I’m sure you’ve heard the adage that people are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death. On the other hand, some folks can’t get enough public speaking and look forward to opportunities to get up in front of a group and talk. Writing is not so scary since it’s a solitary activity, […]
2021-10-30
181 reads
This year PASS Data Community Summit is a free virtual event, and I encourage you to register even if you are interested in just a handful of sessions. One of the Learning Pathways might be just what you are looking for, from Query Basics to Power BI to DevOps. What I’m most excited about this […]
2021-10-09
105 reads
I recently began writing an article to compare the performance of several window functions to traditional query methods. I began with my favorite function, LAG, but soon found that there were so many other ways to write the query that the article never covered the additional window functions. The article was quite fun to write, […]
2021-09-18
197 reads
Many data professionals have begun working remotely over the past year and a half which translates to less time spent commuting. In my own case, I’ve been a remote worker for almost ten years, but before that I spent two hours on the road each day. This got me wondering what folks have done with […]
2021-08-28
255 reads
Time is a precious commodity, and so much of our time is dedicated to working. IT professionals often have jobs with good benefits, including generous paid time off. It’s important to get away from work to relax and recharge, but, sometimes, it’s difficult to take those days that belong to us. Even when we do […]
2021-07-17
97 reads
Releases of on-premises SQL Server arrived quite rapidly for a few years with seven releases during the years spanning 2008 and 2019. While it has technically been less than two years since SQL Server 2019 reached general availability in November 2019, it feels like ages since we have heard any news about what’s coming next. […]
2021-04-24
1,770 reads
In 2008, I managed to achieve the goal of becoming a Microsoft Certified Trainer. Once I achieved the status, Microsoft shipped me a binder with dozens of DVDs containing lab VMs and class materials for all the current classes. At some point, instead of receiving DVDs, you were expected to download images which was quite […]
2021-03-13
159 reads
I frequently use Common Table Expressions (CTEs) when I demo windowing functions and get questions about them. Windowing functions are limited to the SELECT and ORDER BY clause which means that you can’t filter or group on them directly. Using a CTE is one way to separate the logic of the query into multiple steps […]
2021-02-27
2,323 reads
I’ve been digging through the 18 years’ worth of articles, editorials, blogs, contests, interviews, promotions, and announcements over at Simple Talk. There are over 5000 posts, and many are quite outdated, especially those announcing beta versions of software or other time-sensitive content. Some articles haven’t seen the light of day for 10 years, yet some […]
2021-02-06
111 reads
My final job in my previous career was at a hospital. I worked there for five years in the 90s before getting my first position as a developer. While I didn’t love the career I was leaving, I did appreciate what I learned from that last job. Part of the onboarding included a short class […]
2021-01-16
120 reads
By Steve Jones
vicarous – adj. curious to know what someone else would do if they were...
Say we have a database that we want to migrate a copy of into...
We are trying to get apps and users off of using SQL accounts to...
Hi I have this view to check if a job is running: SELECT...
All, if you are like me and do not care for the built-in color...
Certain internal SQL Server actions cause internal checkpoints. Which of these actions does not cause an internal checkpoint?
See possible answers