Generate INSERTs the new 26ai way
Six years ago(!) I did an Office Hours session where I demonstrated a little routine that would let you generate more efficient INSERTs by converting a standard INSERT-VALUES into...
2026-03-02
16 reads
INSERT-VALUES – Bigger is NOT always Better!
One of the super cool features in 26ai is the ability to extend the VALUES clause in your INSERT statements to allow multiple rows per execution. If you’re unfamiliar...
2026-02-27
24 reads
SQL Macros make so many things easier
Addenda Feb 20: I had one colleague point out a mistake, then another colleague point out something else, then I thought about it a little and found other problems…sigh. ...
2026-02-19
16 reads
26ai Quick Tip for Database Links
It seems an odd thing that so many facilities on the cloud environment take advantage of the concept of stored database credentials when it comes to authenticating/authorising access to...
2026-01-29
24 reads
Long time, no posts
I was working on two publisher contracts at the same time. I highly recommend never doing that. One is done, though, and it’s officially published as of September 2022....
2022-10-27
54 reads
How to “Rename” the Master Branch to Main in Git in Azure DevOps
I believe that language matters, and that it is worth our effort to move away from language associated with slavery and racism whenever possible. Azure DevOps doesn’t technically allow...
2020-06-26
524 reads
Create a Build with YAML for SQL Change Automation in Azure DevOps
I used to make fun of YAML because I was scared of it. I still make fun of YAML, but I’m not scared of it anymore now that Rob...
2020-06-25
175 reads
Learn TSQL for free online – starting today
Thanks to the support of Redgate, I’ve launched a new course which teaches you the basics of TSQL. The course is totally free, no logins required — we don’t...
2020-05-11
104 reads
Join the Best Worst Code Contest today at 5pm BST / Noon Eastern #BestWorstCode
I have an idea! Let’s have a “Worst Code Contest.” Why do this? Bad code is really fun — at least, when you write it on purpose. And other...
2020-04-24
44 reads
Your team can’t stop writing crappy code. Will Intelligent Query Processing fix it?
People have been writing about how evil scalar functions are in SQL Server for ten years. But people still use scalar functions in their code all the time. And...
2020-03-24
42 reads
Blogs
Keeping Redshift System Table History Past 7 Days with S3 Tables
Redshift keeps its SYS_* monitoring views for seven days in cluster, which is fine...
Updating the Data API Builder
By Steve Jones
I was updating my session for the Data API Builder (DAB) recently, mostly to...
T-SQL Tuesday #202 Invitation: That One SQL Server Outage You’ll Never Forget
I am excited to host T-SQL Tuesday for the first time. I want to...
Forums
Practical Ways to Approach SQL Server Problems and Case Studies
Working with SQL Server can involve more than just writing queries. Understanding database design,...
Measuring Productivity
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Measuring Productivity
Importing Excel files into SQL Server using DuckDB and Python
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Importing Excel files into SQL...
Question of the Day
Tracking All the Queries
I have 3 instances of a brand new long running query that are executing on a SQL Server 2025 instance. Query store is enabled. One of the queries is killed by the administrator, one is cancelled by the user. The other runs to completion. How many rows are in Query Store for this query?
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