An Alternative to SELECT COUNT(*) for Better Performance
Sometimes rapid code development doesn't always produce the most efficient code. Take the age old line of code SELECT COUNT(*)...
2013-05-07
5,297 reads
Everyday SQL
Merging SQL Server and Softball Just for Fun
With opening day of Major League Baseball season finally here, I thought I’d take the time to cover two of...
2013-04-02
1,293 reads
Use Powershell to Pick Up what Database Mirroring Leaves Behind
Database mirroring has been around since SQL Server 2005, and it's turned out to be an excellent step up from...
2013-03-26
2,457 reads
T-SQL Tuesday #40 - Proportional Fill within a Filegroup
T-SQL Tuesday #40 is underway, and this month's host is Jennifer McCown (blog|twitter). The topic is about File and Filegroup...
2013-03-15 (first published: 2013-03-12)
2,903 reads
Dealing with a Fragmented Heap
Just for the record, this happens to be one of my favorite interview questions to ask candidates.
At some point in...
2013-03-05
2,349 reads
The Performance Impact to Prefix Stored Procedures with sp_
Last week I ran across a blog post by Axel Achten (B|T) that outlined a few reasons why you should...
2013-02-19
1,470 reads
T-SQL Tuesday - Use Powershell to Restore a Database on a Different Server
T-SQL Tuesday - This month's party is hosted by Wayne Sheffield (blog|twitter), and the topic is about Powershell and how to use...
2013-02-12
8,177 reads
What is DBCC SHOW_STATISTICS Telling Me About My Data?
Per Books Online, DBCC SHOW_STATISTICS displays current query optimization statistics for a table or indexed view. Basically it shows you...
2013-02-14 (first published: 2013-02-05)
5,490 reads
How to Remove (Undo) Table Partitioning
I have seen plenty of articles and blog posts out there for how to setup and implement table partitioning, but...
2013-02-04 (first published: 2013-01-29)
8,815 reads
sp_PerformanceCounters - Get a Health Check of SQL Server's Performance
During your career as a DBA, you'll run across articles by SQL experts or other DBAs that just give you...
2013-01-22
1,364 reads
Blogs
10 Decisions to Make Before You Create A Fabric Workspace
Creating a Fabric workspace takes about 30 seconds. Restructuring workspaces after people have built...
Flyway Tips: Object History
By Steve Jones
It’s a small change, but a handy one. Flyway Desktop (FWD) now includes the...
Car Update September 2026
By Steve Jones
Software is hard. While I love our Lucid Gravity, I realize that they are...
Forums
Adding new column with DEFAULT II
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Advanced Deployment Scenarios: Stairway to Reliable Database Deployments Level 7
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Advanced Deployment Scenarios: Stairway to...
You Need a DBA Pipeline
Comments posted to this topic are about the item You Need a DBA Pipeline
Question of the Day
Adding new column with DEFAULT II
Which number did the two COUNT(*) return:
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS #tmp CREATE TABLE #tmp (id INT NOT NULL) INSERT INTO #tmp (id) SELECT gs.value FROM GENERATE_SERIES(1, 5) AS gs ALTER TABLE #tmp ADD my_value INT NOT NULL CONSTRAINT df_tmp_my_value DEFAULT 1 SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #tmp AS t WHERE my_value = 1 ALTER TABLE #tmp DROP CONSTRAINT df_tmp_my_value ALTER TABLE #tmp ADD CONSTRAINT df_tmp_my_value DEFAULT 2 FOR my_value SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #tmp AS t WHERE my_value = 1See possible answers