Arun Sirpal

I am a Senior DBA with interest in MS technology especially SQL Server and Azure. During 2015 I was mentored by Paul Randal – Data Platform (SQL Server) MVP and during 2016 I completed my SQLskills Immersion training on Internals and Performance Tuning. When I am not working I am in the gym burning calories.

Databases and AI Agents

As part of my wider work exploring Claude Code and AI-assisted database engineering, I have been looking at how AI can support SQL Server operations. A failed job, missed...

2026-06-03 (first published: )

551 reads

Blog Post

Claude Context Window

Every Claude conversation has a context window. It is the total amount of text Claude can work with in a single chat — your messages, its replies, uploaded files,...

2026-05-30 (first published: )

65 reads

Blog Post

Claude Desktop

Claude is more than a chat window. The desktop experience includes structured workspaces, generated outputs, integrations, execution capabilities, memory and reusable workflows. This is a quick introduction to some...

2026-05-26

55 reads

Blog Post

Claude.ai vs Claude API

You have used Claude. But which Claude? The Claude app (claude.ai, the desktop and mobile apps) is the chat product you talk to. The Claude API is the developer...

2026-05-25 (first published: )

543 reads

Blog Post

Why Claude?

Every major model out there can summarise documents, write code and answer multi step questions – then if you decide to go with a specific vendor based on costs...

2026-05-18 (first published: )

977 reads

Blogs

T-SQL Tuesday #203: Risk and Reward

By

This is timely, as I’m currently on a boat in the Adriatic taking a...

dataMinds Connect 2026 – Slides & Scripts

By

You can find the slides and SQL scripts for my session “Spice up your...

How to Clear the SSMS Cache (SSMS 21 and Later)

By

How to Clear the SSMS Cache (SSMS 21 and Later) Updated...

Read the latest Blogs

Forums

Using CHOOSE()

By Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Comments posted to this topic are about the item Using CHOOSE()

Re-Seeding a Broken Log Shipping Secondary (Without Touching the Primary)

By LukaMK

Comments posted to this topic are about the item Re-Seeding a Broken Log Shipping...

The DBA is Dead! Long Live the !

By Grant Fritchey

Comments posted to this topic are about the item The DBA is Dead! Long...

Visit the forum

Question of the Day

Using CHOOSE()

We have this code that sets some status values and then queries them using the CHOOSE() function in SQL Server 2025.

CREATE TABLE Status
(
    StatusID INT,
    StatusDescription VARCHAR(20)
);
GO
INSERT dbo.Status
(
    StatusID,
    StatusDescription
)
VALUES
(0, 'Uncategorized'),
(1, 'Active'),
(2, 'Inactive'),
(3, 'Temp');

GO
SELECT CHOOSE(StatusID, 'Unknown', 'Active', 'Inactive', 'Temporary')
FROM Status;
When the SELECT runs, what is returned?

See possible answers