You, as a SQL Server data professional, are looking for ways to improve your queries. You've done the usual - avoided cursors and loops, used locks effectively, examined execution plans - what else can you tweak? Check out this tip to learn more.
2013-04-08
6,542 reads
The new SQL Server 2012 Sequence Object can be used to generate unique numbers that can be automatically incremented based on an increment value. Greg Larsen discusses the different features of the sequence object and how you can use it to generate sequence numbers.
2013-04-05
2,967 reads
For some time, Microsoft had a few window functions, but not the full set specified in the SQL 2003 standard. Now, in SQL Server 2012 we have the whole range, and extremely useful they are too. There's no longer an excuse to avoid them, particularly now you have Rob Sheldon's gentle introduction.
2013-04-04
5,033 reads
Normally, the query Optimiser won't consider 'bushy' plans, where both operands to a join operator could be intermediate results from other joins. This means that it won't produce good query plans for some types of query. Hints, by themselves won't do it. More powerful magic is required.
2013-04-03
3,486 reads
n a database I currently support, the application makes use of db_datareader and db_datawriter to give permissions to the tables. In a different database, it's even worse as the application uses db_owner. We're adding new tables to both databases and we don't want the application to have access to these tables. How can I deal with the use of these three roles?
2013-04-02
3,632 reads
Pivoting SQL Server tables is always awkward, even with the PIVOT and UNPIVOT operators. If you want to get the job done without GROUP BY or PIVOT, here is a way to do it using only REPLACE.
2013-04-01
6,173 reads
In this tip we will look at one way to achieve control of stored procedures to ensure that reuse is for the intended purpose and changes do not break other applications that may be using this same code.
2013-03-29
4,280 reads
When you need to shred just part of the data within a large XML file into a SQL Server table, the most efficient way is to just select what you need via XQuery or by using XPath, before shredding it into a table. But precisely how would you do that?
2013-03-28
3,174 reads
You have the option of using PowerShell when automating management of SQL Server 2012 Integration Services. While this functionality is not as straightforward as those accustomed to traditional PowerShell cmdlets might expect, the steps required to accomplish the most common SSIS administrative tasks follow a relatively consistent pattern.
2013-03-27
2,366 reads
I have been trying to tune my SQL Server and I noticed a few database settings for statistics. I also read the previous tip on automatic statistics updates. Could you please describe the Auto Create Statistics Async option? How is this configured and when should I use it and when should I avoid using it?
2013-03-26
4,282 reads
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In SQL Server 2025, if I want to remove an IP from a listener, what do I do?
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