Evaluating the Randomness of SQL Server Random Number Functions

Microsoft provides T-SQL developers with three functions (rand, newid, and crypt_gen_random) for generating random numbers. Each of these functions is effective at returning random values, but feature sets associated with each function make them best suited to different use cases. This tip’s Solution section presents an overview of common use cases for random numbers in SQL Server along with references to learn more about random numbers in SQL Server.

Exploring the SQL Server CHOOSE Function

I preface a lot of what I write with whether or not it is for a “practical” use. One of the Simple Talk authors used this function in a forthcoming article. and I realized I hadn’t heard of it before (or I forgot about it… which is not completely unlikely.) The practical use was to generate some data and have at least a little variety to the values.

SQL Server Cursor Example

I know SQL cursors exist, but I am not sure how or why to use them. Can you provide a SQL cursor example? Can you give any guidance on when to use a SQL Server cursor?

Building AI Calls into the First Responder Kit

No, that isn’t an April 1st joke, heh. I know a lot of vendors are shoving AI down your throat, but I can think of a few ways I actually want to get quick, easy advice from large language models (LLM) when I’m calling the sp_Blitz scripts:

Return stored procedure parameter values to a calling stored procedure

In a previous topic we discussed how to pass parameters into a stored procedure, but another option is to pass parameter values back out from a stored procedure. One option for this may be that you call another stored procedure that does not return any data, but returns parameter values to be used by the calling stored procedure.

How to Load a Date Dimension in Microsoft Fabric using Macros in dbt?

The article A gentle introduction to dbt explains how you can get dbt in the cloud version, how you can set up a free account, and how to create a connection to a Microsoft Fabric warehouse.

T-SQL Fundamentals

Master Transact-SQL's fundamentals, and write correct, robust code for querying and modifying data with modern Microsoft data technologies, including SQL Server 2022, Azure SQL Database, and Azure SQL Managed Instance.

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Using try catch in SQL Server stored procedures

A great new option that has been around since SQL Server 2005 is the ability to use the Try..Catch paradigm that exists in other development languages. Doing error handling in SQL Server has not always been the easiest thing, so this option definitely makes it much easier to code for and handle errors.

Managed Instance Gotchas – Error Conditions

I was recently on a project to migrate a very transactional installation of SQL Server to Azure SQL Managed Instance (MI). SQL Managed Instance is a good stepping stone between a full, on-prem SQL instance / Azure VM and an Azure SQL Database.

Using the CASE expression instead of dynamic SQL in SQL Server

I have a lot of SQL update queries where I need to make IF/ELSE types of decisions. In some cases, I am using a cursor but looping through thousands of rows for update takes a long time. I also use some dynamic SQL to handle some query parameter decision making. Is there a better alternative?