Improving Performance for Some LIKE “%string%” Searches (SQL Spackle)
If you've ever wondered if you can do better than an INDEX SCAN when you do a LIKE "%string%" search, read on...
2024-11-29 (first published: 2014-04-07)
50,915 reads
Dwain Camps
The Right and Wrong of T-SQL DML TRIGGERs (SQL Spackle)
Triggers in T-SQL have many uses. There are right and wrong ways to write triggers. To learn the difference, read on...
2024-11-15 (first published: 2015-03-17)
8,972 reads
Calculating Elapsed Times (SQL Spackle)
Calculating elapsed time between time values can be an interesting problem that is easily solved even when data anomalies are present.
2024-09-20 (first published: 2013-09-26)
18,825 reads
An Alternative (Better?) Method to UNPIVOT (SQL Spackle)
Normalizing or UNPIVOTing data may be improved by using this lesser known approach in SQL Server 2008 or later.
2024-07-26 (first published: 2012-08-02)
45,581 reads
Performance of the SQL MERGE vs. INSERT/UPDATE
The SQL MERGE statement offers convenience, safety and elegance, but how does it perform compared to other methods?
2017-02-03 (first published: 2013-10-28)
168,117 reads
Logging and Error Handling for SQL Stored Procedures
Learn how to develop and test a template for logging and error handling in a multi-step SQL stored procedure
2015-09-18 (first published: 2014-01-20)
39,189 reads
The Fastest Way to Combine DATE and TIME Data Types to a DATETIME
Recently while working with a table where there were two columns, one a DATE datatype and a second TIME datatype,...
2015-09-08 (first published: 2015-08-28)
81,422 reads
High Performance T-SQL using Code Patterns
What exactly does this mean? We’ve heard of “code patterns” in other programming languages, but what does it mean to...
2015-06-04 (first published: 2015-05-27)
9,279 reads
The Best Tool for Comparing Whether Two T-SQL Queries Produce Identical Results
There is one software tool that should be in every software developer’s tool chest. That is knowledge of the platform...
2015-05-26 (first published: 2015-05-21)
7,618 reads
Excel in T-SQL Part 2 – The Normal Distribution (NORM.DIST) Density Functions
Today’s blog will be the second in a multi-part series on replicating Excel functions in T-SQL, continuing with Excel’s NORM.DIST...
2015-05-14
10,777 reads
Blogs
A New Word: Dolorblindness
By Steve Jones
dolorblindness – n. the frustration that you’ll never be able to understand another person’s...
Claude Code Helps Analyze Test Data Manager Log Files
By Steve Jones
I had a customer ask about analyzing their Test Data Manager (TDM) usage to...
PowerPoint to HTML with Claude AI
By Steve Jones
I had an idea for an animated view of a sales tool, and started...
Forums
Optimism Without Illusion or Why AI Needs Blunt Technologists
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Optimism Without Illusion or Why...
SSIS with VS2022 64/32 issue with Excel files
Hi all, I'm trying to do classic scenario for loading multiple Excel files into...
Case part is sloooooow
Hi So the case statement is slowing this down - but for the life...
Question of the Day
The String Distance I
In SQL Server 2025, what is returned by this code:
SELECT EDIT_DISTANCE('tim', 'tom')
Assume preview features are enabled. See possible answers