UPDATE Basics in SQL Server
SQL Server's UPDATE statement is apparently simple, but complications such as the FROM clause can cause puzzlement. Bob Sheldon starts simply, and introduces the more complex forms painlessly.
2010-07-28
6,014 reads
Additional Articles
Dynamic Data Driven Variable Hierarchical Structures in SQL
This article describes data driven variable structure generation in SQL. The controlling data can be located higher up on the hierarchical pathway or can be located further down on the pathway producing a look-ahead operation. Multiple pathways can independently produce dynamic data driven structures and these dynamic structures can be nested allowing a very flexible and powerful dynamic automatic data structure generation capability. These different controls of structure generation can be combined.
2010-07-27
2,757 reads
Issues with running DBCC SHRINKFILE on your data files
Why would database performance remain low and fragmentation high event though the entire database has been defragmented every night? In this tip we cover how SHRINKFILE works and some of the issues it might create.
2010-07-27
5,053 reads
SQL Server CRUD-Generation from System Views
If you are not keen on repetitive typing, you can still rapidly produce production-quality documented code by planning ahead and using Extended properties, and system views. Phil Factor explains, with some Scary SQL
2010-07-26
3,473 reads
Oracle to SQL Server, Crossing the Great Divide, Part 3
We soon learn, in SQL Server, that heaps are a bad thing, without necessarily understanding how or why. Jonathan Lewis is an Oracle expert who doesn't like to take such strictures for granted, especially when they don't apply to Oracle. Jonathan discovers much about how SQL Server places data, and concludes from his experiments that heaps perform badly in SQL Server because you cannot specify a fill factor for them.
2010-07-23
3,312 reads
Configuring Alerts for Policy-Based Management
How can I receive notifications when the policies I have implemented have been violated so I don't have to manually look at each server?
2010-07-22
2,954 reads
Gathering Perfmon Data with Powershell
Inspired to streamline the process of gathering and storing data from Performance Monitor Counters, SQL Server MVP Laerte Junior guides us through the functions of his remarkably useful module.
2010-07-21
3,220 reads
Binary Trees in SQL
A number of hierarchies and networks are most conveniently modelled as binary trees. So what is the best way of representing them in SQL? Joe Celko discards the Nested Set solution in favour of surprisingly efficient solution based on the Binary Heap
2010-07-20
4,764 reads
Shared Datasets in SQL Server 2008 R2
Shared Datasets are one of the features introduced in SQL Server 2008 R2. This article demonstrates how to implement Shared Datasets as well their use-case scenarios.
2010-07-19
4,132 reads
Extending Hierarchical Data Modeling Demonstrated in SQL
The capability of extending the limits of combining multiple node hierarchical structures has not been fully explored. Michael M. David presents a solution to advanced structure combining that is simple to use, generic and freely extends the way hierarchical structures can be semantically combined to produce advanced new hierarchical data structure mashups that dynamically increase the value of the data.
2010-07-16
3,196 reads
Blogs
Resetting on the AI hype train
By Brian Kelley
There's a great article from MIT Technology Review about resetting on the hype of...
A New Word: Etherness
By Steve Jones
etherness – n. the wistful feeling of looking around a gathering of loved ones,...
Vibe Coding a Login Tracking System
By Steve Jones
A customer was asking about tracking logins and logouts in Redgate Monitor. We don’t...
Forums
The Microsoft SQL Year in Review
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Microsoft SQL Year in...
T-SQL in SQL Server 2025: The || Operator
Comments posted to this topic are about the item T-SQL in SQL Server 2025:...
Your Value from a Conference
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Your Value from a Conference
Question of the Day
UNISTR Basics
What does this code return in SQL Server 2025+? (assume the database has an appropriate collation)
SELECT UNISTR('Hello 4E16754C') AS 'A Classic';
A: 
B: 
See possible answers