Exploring the Spark Connect gRPC API
All Spark Connect Posts
Code
Goal of this post In the first two posts, we looked at how to run some Spark code, firstly against a local Spark Connect server and...
2024-01-26
335 reads
Blog Posts
Friday Flyway Tips–The Version Control Blade
The Flyway Desktop Version Control tab is gone and a new blade has appeared in its place. This post looks at the changes and what that means for a...
2024-01-26 (first published: 2024-01-12)
114 reads
I can no longer recommend Liquid Web for hosting
I’ve had a really disappointing experience with the Liquid Web sales team, regarding the web server that hosts this blog post you’re reading right now. My disappointment is compounded...
2024-01-26
36 reads
SQL Server documentation refresh: Logical and physical showplan operator reference
Understanding query plans is key to successful query tuning in Microsoft SQL Server. Randolph West of the Microsoft docs team posted on Thursday that the logical and physical showplan...
2024-01-26
47 reads
T-SQL Tuesday #170 – Learning from Failure
So what did I learn? I think a better question is, "What did I re-learn?"
2024-01-26 (first published: 2024-01-09)
241 reads
A temper, soft skills, and almost losing a job : T-SQL Tuesday #170
It’s T-SQL Tuesday again! In fact, it’s the first of the year and our intrepid host is Reitse Eskens (blog|twitter). ... Continue reading
2024-01-24 (first published: 2024-01-09)
528 reads
Consolidating Cloud Backups
I am a big fan of the cloud. While I appreciate local storage and privacy/control/security, etc., that stuff can also go away locally. Plus, I like the convenience, and...
2024-01-24
41 reads
Switching between different active physical relationships in a Power BI model
A couple of weeks ago, I encountered a DAX question that I had not previously considered. They had a situation where there were two paths between two tables: on...
2024-01-24 (first published: 2024-01-09)
496 reads
Using Spark Connect from .NET to run Spark jobs on Databricks
All Spark Connect Posts
Goal of this post This post aims to show how we can create a .NET application, deploy it to Databricks, and then run a Databricks job...
2024-01-24 (first published: 2024-01-23)
109 reads
Your gradient fill bar charts in Power BI have poor color contrast, but you can fix them
Since conditional formatting was released for Power BI, I have seen countless examples of bar charts that have a gradient color fill. If you aren’t careful about the gradient...
2024-01-23
22 reads
Blogs
Ramblings about data communities and your contributions, no excuses
By DataOnWheels
I have been active in the data community throughout my career. I have met...
SQL Server Journey till 2025 (brief)
By Vinay Thakur
Quick Summary for Microsoft SQL Server till 2025, I am fortunate to be part...
Building Power BI Reports: Desktop vs Fabric
By James Serra
Why this comparison feels confusing If you’re a Power BI report author who’s just...
Forums
Simulating Mercury’s Orbital Motion Using Pure T-SQL (NASA 2025 Dataset)
SQL Server is typically viewed as a transactional or analytical database engine. However, it...
Azure SQL Database | CREATE EVENT SESSION [Blocking_Capture] ON DATABASE
Hello, Is there a way in Azure SQL Database to change the 'Blocking Process...
Having a Little Fun at SQL Server Central
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Having a Little Fun at...
Question of the Day
String Similarity I
On SQL Server 2025, when I run this, what is returned?
SELECT EDIT_DISTANCE_SIMILARITY('SQL Server', 'MySQL') See possible answers