The Importance of Database Indexing
In this article, James Munro demonstrates an example of a simple query without an index and then that same query again with the index. A simple introduction to database indexing.
2015-06-04
7,210 reads
Additional Articles
Query Folding in Power Query to Improve Performance
In this tip Koen Verbeeck discusses query folding, how you can take advantage from it and how to make sure query folding takes place.
2015-06-03
3,661 reads
Cybercrime - the Dark Edges of the Internet
Criminal activity is a growing menace on the internet: This inevitably means more diligence is required by legitimate users in the face of an increasingly sophisticated criminal threat. Robert Sheldon describes some of the emerging threats and risks.
2015-06-02
4,544 reads
Converting Comma Separated Value to Rows and Vice Versa in SQL Server
Often while reporting you will encounter a situation where you will have comma separated values in a single column but you want to report them in rows. In other cases you might have values in multiple rows and want them to be a single value separated by comma or some other character. Arshad Ali demonstrates how to write queries in SQL Server to handle these scenarios quickly.
2015-06-01
5,990 reads
A Plethora of PowerShell Pitfalls: Part 2
There are some pitfalls in PowerShell for the unwary. Many people who are learning PowerShell come across quirks that can cause frustration. Michael Sorens continues his series, warning abut four of the most common PowerShell pitfalls and explains how to avoid them.
2015-05-29
7,299 reads
Converting and Using Text Dates as SQL Server Dates
This tip describes some T-SQL techniques for converting a mmddyyyy string to a SQL Server date, handling rows with missing date strings, and comparing converted date strings.
2015-05-28
7,705 reads
Using the T-SQL PERCENTILE Analytic Functions in SQL Server 2000, 2005 and 2008
Percentiles give meaning to measurements by telling you the percentage of the population being measured who get higher or lower values. They are now easier to calculate in SQL, and are useful for reporting; but are the new analytic functions faster and more efficient than the older methods? Dwain Camps demonstrates, and investigates their relative performance.
2015-05-27
7,757 reads
Optimizing Batch Process in SQL Server
SQL Server batch processes are usually run from SQL Agent in the background. Often, the responsibility for creating these tasks belongs entirely to the developer. Dennes Torres demonstrates that DBAs can advise and assist with this type of batch job to help reduce their impact on the working system.
2015-05-25
7,564 reads
Developer-Tester Relationships
In a development team, there are times when the relationships between developers and testers can become strained. How can you turn this potential conflict into something more positive? Is it part of the skill of team-working to find ways of avoiding friction, or should one blame a system that relies on good social skills to work well?
2015-05-22
11,013 reads
PCI Best Practices Guide for SQL Server DBAs
Tibor Nagy has put together some best practices to help SQL Server DBAs navigate the many different requirements around PCI compliance.
2015-05-21
6,930 reads
Blogs
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Happy Holidays, Let's Do Nerdy Stuff
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UNISTR Escape
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Celebrating Tomorrow
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Question of the Day
UNISTR Escape
In SQL Server 2025, I run this command:
SELECT UNISTR('*3041*308A*304C\3068 and good night', '*') as "A Classic";
What is returned? (assume the database has an appropriate collation)
A: 
B: 
C: 
See possible answers