Sometimes a request from a user who doesn't appreciate the limitations of the technology can jolt you into discovering that an application feature that was, until recently, difficult to achieve is suddenly relatively easy. Dino was asked to allow the user to take photographs and associate them with an item of work. After he'd recovered from the shock, he decided that it was achievable, and now describes how he went on and did it.
2016-10-06
4,818 reads
Aaron Bertrand runs some tests to challenge an assertion that CHARINDEX is always faster at pattern matching than LEFT and LIKE.
2016-10-05
3,387 reads
Greg Larson explains that SQL Server provides a couple of different ways to delete backup and restore history. If you want to remove backup and restore information for all databases based on a date you can use the sp_delete_backuphistory system stored procedure. Or you can use the system stored procedure named sp_delete_database_backuphistory if you want to remove all backup and restore history for a specific database.
2016-10-04
5,098 reads
The ALL, SOME and ANY predicates aren't much used in SQL Server, but they are there. You can use the Exists() predicate instead but the logic is more contorted and difficult to read at a glance. Set-oriented predicates can greatly simplify the answering of many real-life business questions, so it is worth getting familiar with them. Joe Celko explains.
2016-10-03
8,250 reads
Although SQL Server for Linux removes the concern that adopting SQL Server forces you to also adopt the Windows platform, it could also provide a useful alternative platform, and a more obvious alternative to Oracle. There are, however, several obvious concerns as to how such a product could ever achieve parity with the existing Windows-based product. Microsoft have made an interesting move with several ramifications, as Robert Sheldon explains.
2016-09-30
6,963 reads
There are times when you want some users to see part of a column value but not the whole thing, but you want other users to see the complete column value without any masking. The new SQL Server 2016 Dynamic Data Masking feature will allow you to define these different kinds of masking rules - Greg Larson explains.
2016-09-29
5,212 reads
DBCC CHECKDB is a built-in SQL Server command that allows you to check database integrity and consistency in one simple command, but running it on large databases can be a nightmare. In this article, Ahmad Yaseen explains how you can enhance the command to run faster in SQL Server 2016.
2016-09-28
3,423 reads
Desired State Configuration (DSC) allows you to automate the way that you manage configuration data for software services as well as the environment in which these services run. DSC uses a set of built-in and custom 'resources' as the building blocks for a configuration. If you have specific requirements you may need to create the relevant resource to make the configuration happen. Nicolas Prigent provides a practical guide to DSC resources.
2016-09-27
3,764 reads
Erin Stellato goes into detail about some practical use cases for a new DBCC command in SQL Server 2014 SP2 : DBCC CLONEDATABASE.
2016-09-26
3,488 reads
It’s been said that one of the drawbacks to normalization to the third form (3NF) is more cumbersome data extraction due to the greater number of tables. These require careful linking via JOIN clauses. Improper table joining can easily result in erroneous results or even in the dreaded Cartesian Product. In today’s article, Rob Gravelle explores how table joins are achieved in MySQL.
2016-09-23
3,720 reads
By Brian Kelley
I am guilty as charged. The quote was in reference to how people argue...
By Steve Jones
Learn how to tie a bowline knot. Practice in the dark. With one hand....
By HeyMo0sh
As a DevOps practitioner, I’ve always focused on performance, scalability, and automation. But as...
Hi, I have a SQL Server instance where users connect to via Windows Authentication,...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Multiple Deployment Processes
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I have a query from a former DBA that we run on SQL Server 2025 to check on database metadata. This query references sys.sysaltfiles. I want to refactor this code to be more modern. Which DMV should I reference instead?
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