There's a Lot to Learn From Even Simple Puzzles
Phil reflects on the problem-solving power of SQLServerCentral at its best, and mentions some of the impressive contributions to the Summer SQL Stumpers competition
2009-08-11
421 reads
Phil Factor
- Interests: Motorbikes, Beer, gardening, conservation, Local history.
Advice for the Unemployed
Everyone has an opinion on the best advice to give an IT person who is unemployed and wants to get back into paid work. Phil Factor outlines what he would advise.
2009-07-16
227 reads
Stress
Developers and DBAs both tend to lead stressful lives. Occasionally, things don't go to plan, and this stress can then build to pretty intolerable levels. Without adaptive methods of dealing with stress, things can go very wrong...
2009-07-02
277 reads
Documenting Database Code: Structured Headers
When you're doing any database development work, it won't be long before you need to seriously consider the documentation of your routines. Should we, as a community, propose a common standard for T-SQL headers, and the information that should go into them?
2009-06-30
485 reads
CLR Triggers in SQL Servers
Do CLR triggers really represent the most popular usage of CLR in enterprise SQL Servers? Phil Factor wants to know if this is the case, and if so, what on earth are they doing?
2009-06-08
503 reads
Intruding into Dummy Websites
Phil Factor muses on security, bayonets, and databases, and somehow manages to pull it all together in this editorial.
2009-06-02
203 reads
The Visit of the Recovery Testers.
Phil has a nasty surprise when a team of testers turn up to test an n-tier system
2009-03-30
109 reads
Guest Editorial: Improving Northwind
The Northwind database has a place in our collective hearts, despite all efforts to displace it in favor of AdventureWorks. However, a lot has happened in the past twelve or so years, and Phil Factor wonders if we can't, as a community, do better.
2009-03-11
161 reads
Guest Editorial: Information is Power
Phil Factor muses on the power, and potential failings, of the relational database, and wonders if those responsible for its development should feel any guilt about the opportunities for abuse of the power that it affords.
2009-03-02
128 reads
Guest Editorial: In Praise of Templates
Phil takes us through one of the best kept secrets of SSMS - Templates. Even for a 'plain-screen' man like Phil, Templates are an excellent tool, and a major reason to use SSMS.
2009-02-06
277 reads
Blogs
“We love to debate minutiae”
By Brian Kelley
I am guilty as charged. The quote was in reference to how people argue...
Advice I Like: Knots
By Steve Jones
Learn how to tie a bowline knot. Practice in the dark. With one hand....
Shifting Mindsets: Why FinOps is Essential for Cloud Efficiency
By HeyMo0sh
As a DevOps practitioner, I’ve always focused on performance, scalability, and automation. But as...
Forums
Windows logins for users migrated from DomainA to DomainB
Hi, I have a SQL Server instance where users connect to via Windows Authentication,...
Multiple Deployment Processes
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Multiple Deployment Processes
How to Use sqlpackage to Detect Schema Drift Between Azure SQL Databases
Comments posted to this topic are about the item How to Use sqlpackage to...
Question of the Day
Upgrading Admin Queries
I have a query from a former DBA that we run on SQL Server 2025 to check on database metadata. This query references sys.sysaltfiles. I want to refactor this code to be more modern. Which DMV should I reference instead?
See possible answers