How I Became a...SQL Server DBA
Kevin Hill mentioned this idea/series on a SQL community slack channel back in April and I thought it would be a good way to get back to blogging. The timing...
2017-05-30
33 reads
FLX SQL
I Finally Get Cross Apply!
For years I’ve looked at various queries online in sample code, diagnostic queries using DMVs, and the like and seen CROSS APPLY in the FROM clauses. But I’ve never...
2017-05-22
13 reads
Adding Application Name to Invoke-SqlCmd2
In a previous post, I expressed some frustration over Invoke-SqlCmd not setting an Application Name for its ODBC connection, leaving us with the generic .NET SqlClient Library when looking at active sessions...
2017-01-20
68 reads
T-SQL Tuesday #86: SQL Server Bugs & Enhancement Requests
This month’s T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by Brent Ozar and he’s asked everyone to find interesting bug or enhancement requests in Microsoft Connect related to SQL Server.
The Connect item doesn’t have...
2017-01-10
19 reads
Make Your Application's Name Heard
Odds are, you’ve got more than one application or script accessing your database or SQL Server instance at any given time. You’re probably stacking them on a small number...
2017-01-02
13 reads
SQL Saturday Returns to Rochester!
The Rochester, NY chapter of PASS is holding our 6th annual SQL Saturday on April 29th, 2017! As always, RIT is hosting our event on campus.
SQL Saturday is a free day of training centered...
2016-12-23
12 reads
Don't Count on Me
This post is in support of Tim Ford’s (blog|twitter) #iwanttohelp challenge. And also written because this has burned me twice in the past 3 months and by blogging about it,...
2016-11-26
15 reads
T-SQL Tuesday #83: Why Leave Well Enough Alone?
It’s 2016. So why are we still dealing with T-SQL code and design patterns that were designed 7 versions ago?
In the 15 years I have been using databases professionally, we’re still...
2016-10-11
12 reads
Name Your Defaults So SQL Server Doesn't
Something in SQL Server that isn’t always obvious to beginners is that when you create a default value for a column on a table, SQL Server creates a constraint...
2016-01-19
20 reads
SQL New Blogger Challenge November 2015 Edition - Week 3 Digest
This week’s #sqlnewblogger posts!
Author Post @eleightondick [[T-SQL Tuesday] Data modeling: The trouble with prefixes @tomsql Adventures With TomSQL, aka Tom Staab @EdDebug [Automatically name primary key constraints in SSDT...
2015-11-19
15 reads
Blogs
The flight recorder: Replaying what an AI agent did on my SQL Server
By Arun Sirpal
“What exactly did it do on my server?” is the first question a DBA...
Announcements from the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference — Barcelona 2026
By James Serra
Microsoft shared a broad set of Fabric, Power BI, and SQL updates at FabCon...
Au Revoir for now
By Steve Jones
No, I’m not quitting or retiring. Just going on vacation, but I leave tonight...
Forums
Let's Talk Certifications
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Let's Talk Certifications, which is...
The Hidden Security Risks of Role Combination in SSAS Tabular
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Hidden Security Risks of...
The Empty Aggregate
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Empty Aggregate
Question of the Day
The Empty Aggregate
I have this table in a SQL Server 2025 database:
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[CustomerOrder] ( [OrderID] [int] NULL, [CustomerID] [int] NULL, [total] [money] NULL ) ON [PRIMARY] GOWhat is returned from this code? (answers are for the sum and then the count)
SELECT SUM(total) AS sum,
COUNT(total) AS count
FROM dbo.CustomerOrder;
See possible answers