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)
 25,047 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)
 24,250 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)
 24,029 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)
 51,498 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)
 156,113 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)
 130,029 reads