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)
50,839 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)
8,958 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)
18,794 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)
45,394 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)
167,291 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)
39,041 reads
The Case for Scalar-valued, User-defined Functions in T-SQL
Did you know that scalar-valued, user-defined functions can be used in DEFAULT/CHECK CONSTRAINTs and computed columns? Learn about it...
2015-05-12
7,262 reads
A Hazard of Using the SQL Update Statement
If you've never encountered this quirk of the SQL UPDATE statement, you should take a look and find a simple way around it.
2015-04-06 (first published: 2013-09-09)
27,702 reads
Identifying Start Dates not Aligned with End Dates on a Prior Row
When effective end dates don't align properly with effective start dates for subsequent rows, what are you to do?
2015-03-24
10,580 reads
How to Design, Build and Test a Dynamic Search Stored Procedure
Learn how to design, build and test a dynamic search SP in just a few simple but methodical steps.
2015-03-06 (first published: 2013-11-05)
24,943 reads
Blogs
SQL Server 2025 Generally Available
By Brian Kelley
This was announced last week at Microsoft Ignite and it's been covered by others...
Chatting with Power BI: Who Benefits from This Conversation?
By Rayis Imayev
"Dave: Open the pod bay doors, HAL.HAL: I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t...
A Quick Look at Redgate Data Modeler
By Steve Jones
Redgate acquired a data modeling tool from Vertabelo recently and I wanted to explore...
Forums
SQL Server 2022 order by bug?
Hi, I was using order by on a column with characters and saw something...
SQL Server 2025 Build List
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Server 2025 Build List
Filtered Indexes: The Developer’s Secret Weapon in SQL Server
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Filtered Indexes: The Developer’s Secret...
Question of the Day
Getting The Database Name
I run this code to connect to SQL Server 2022 from the command line.
sqlcmd -S localhost -EAt the command line, I run these two commands:
SELECT ORIGINAL_DB_NAME() GOWhat is returned? See possible answers