A Generic Histogram Generator for SQL Server
Histograms help people analyze large amounts of data, whether you display them as tables or as charts. This article shows you how to do both.
2008-07-16
3,216 reads
Additional Articles
Dynamically controlling the number of rows affected by a SQL Server query
One thing you may need to do is dynamically return a set amount of rows based on user input. This could be for a search function, reports, dropdown lists or whatever. Instead of hard coding a set value you would like to pass in a variable that will then determine the number of rows to return. How can this be done with T-SQL?
2008-07-16
4,539 reads
DML Trigger Status Alerts
When databases suddenly stop working, it can be for a number of different reasons. Human error plays a large part, of course, and the DBA needs to know what these various humans are up to. DDL triggers can help alert the DBA to unauthorized tampering with a production system, of course, but DDL triggers can't tell you everything. At some point, you will need to implement your own checks. Randy certainly reached that point!
2008-07-15
2,971 reads
Using NOLOCK and READPAST table hints in SQL Server
Table locking hints provide developers much tighter control of their transactions. Look at the benefits and disadvantages of using the NOLOCK and READPAST table hints in SQL Server
2008-07-15
5,492 reads
SQL Server Function to Determine a Leap Year
I need to write a function to determine if particular year is a leap year (i.e. February contains 29 days rather than 28 days). I know that there are various rules for calculating leap years. Is there an easy way to figure this out? Can you provide an example or two to validate various years?
2008-07-14
5,755 reads
Where is the Query in XQuery?
Michael David discusses how XQuery was designed from the ground up to process hierarchical XML data, but it is still missing capabilities that a hierarchical query processor product should have and did have originally.
2008-07-14
2,422 reads
Intrinsic Member Properties: The MEMBER_KEY Property
Join BI Architect Bill Pearson in an introduction to the intrinsic MEMBER_KEY property. In hands-on exercises, we gain exposure to the use of the property in generating simple lists, as well as datasets to support report parameter picklists.
2008-07-11
2,077 reads
Microsoft Jet 4.0 Sorting APIs: DBCompareStringW and DBLCMapStringW
The Microsoft Jet 4.0 relational database engine utilizes character sorting tables when creating and querying field indexes made up of character data. Two Microsoft Windows APIs are generally utilized for this functionality:
2008-07-11
3,944 reads
Restoring a database during SQL Server upgrade
Part 2 in this upgrade series lists the steps to point application traffic at a transition server while the primary cluster is rebuilt to Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2005.
2008-07-10
2,511 reads
SQL Server 2008: new data types and .Net 2 with and without SP1
If you use the new data types in SQL Server 2008, and your front-end application uses .NET 2, you may hit difficulties. András explains why and how...
2008-07-10
3,445 reads
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Forums
Windows logins for users migrated from DomainA to DomainB
Hi, I have a SQL Server instance where users connect to via Windows Authentication,...
Multiple Deployment Processes
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How to Use sqlpackage to Detect Schema Drift Between Azure SQL Databases
Comments posted to this topic are about the item How to Use sqlpackage to...
Question of the Day
Upgrading Admin Queries
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?
See possible answers