A co-worker has informed you that he just...

Uses For Derived Tables

In this article by Robert Marda, he shows you how to use derived tables to solve some of SQL's problems.

Auditing Through Triggers

In this article by Robert Marda, he shows you how to setup a simple auditing system through triggers.

Review of SQL Compare v3

Regular columnist Robert Marda had some extra time so we got him to take a look at the latest upgrade to SQL Compare - for those of you aren't familiar with it, it is a tool that will let you compare two databases to see the differences, then optionally sync one to the other.

Documenting Stored Procedures

Regular columnist Robert Marda discusses a few ideas on stored procedure documentation. How much documentation do you need and is "documentation" different than code comments?

Stored Procedure Development Cycle

This month Robert covers the process he uses for developing stored procedures. In many ways it reflects how software is developed, but it does have it's minor differences. This is a high level process discussion, not a line by line example of the entire process - by design of course.

What Your SP Can Return

Return values from stored procedures (not output params, true return values) probably aren't used as often as they should be. Robert gives you some good examples of how to use them.

Does Your SP Choke on Errors?

Should your stored procedure continue when it hits an error? Or keep executing? What errors will cause a stored procedure to quit executing auotmatically? Regular columnist Robert Marda has at least some of the answers, we think you'll find this interesting.

Handling The Text Data Type

Robert is back this week with a look at the text data type. Not the easiest thing to work with, but sometimes a varchar just doesn't give you the range you need.

Block the DBA?

Can you block a DBA from performing certain actions on a server if he has sysadmin rights? The real answer is no, but this article shows you how to block an unknowledgable DBA from performing certain actions.