BULK INSERT and BCP are powerful, high performance tools for importing text files. SQL Server MVP Jeff Moden gives us several nifty tips in this introduction to BULK INSERT and BCP Format Files including "Skipping Columns" and the sequestration of bad rows while still loading all the good data.
2024-11-22 (first published: 2014-01-23)
25,329 reads
SQL Server MVP Jeff Moden shows us a quick and dirty bit of SQL Spackle to display the content of VARCHAR(MAX) and NVARCHAR(MAX).
2024-10-04 (first published: 2011-01-27)
24,296 reads
Learn how you can query a hierarchy of data and also return the results in an ordered fashion. A handy T-SQL skill that you will use over and over again.
2024-08-02 (first published: 2011-03-10)
24,124 reads
tl;dr The title says it all. Prologue One of the keys to my personal learning is that, very early in my database career, I taught myself how to make lot’s of rows of Random Constrained Data in a comparatively short time. With the help of a few good folks over time, the method has been […]
2023-09-18
3,922 reads
The most common method on the internet for combining DATE and TIME columns in SQL Server is incorrect. This article demonstrates why that and other methods are incorrect and two lesser known high performance methods that produce correct results even for the "edge cases".
2023-08-07
23,887 reads
In Unix, a timestamp is a whole number that represents a date and time. Learn how we can convert those correctly in SQL Server.
2022-11-15 (first published: 2022-09-14)
53,150 reads
Many people have used a "Numbers" or "Tally" table without really knowing what it does. This is an introduction as to how a Tally table replaces a loop.
2022-09-05 (first published: 2008-05-07)
156,729 reads
Here's why you should NEVER use the FORMAT() function in SQL Server.
2022-08-05
21,411 reads
Learn to calculate Start / First of Week, End of Week, Start of Next Week, Year, Quarter, and Month of the week, Week Numbers and more in T-SQL (Jeff Moden)
2022-07-13
33,861 reads
An "old" subject is revisted where "newbies" can learn the methods and veteran users can get more performance out of the code.
2021-11-23 (first published: 2008-08-19)
130,642 reads
By Steve Jones
dolorblindness – n. the frustration that you’ll never be able to understand another person’s...
By Steve Jones
I had a customer ask about analyzing their Test Data Manager (TDM) usage to...
By Steve Jones
I had an idea for an animated view of a sales tool, and started...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Optimism Without Illusion or Why...
Hi all, I'm trying to do classic scenario for loading multiple Excel files into...
Hi So the case statement is slowing this down - but for the life...
In SQL Server 2025, what is returned by this code:
SELECT EDIT_DISTANCE('tim', 'tom')
Assume preview features are enabled. See possible answers