On table variable row estimations
At first glance, the question of how many rows are estimated from a table variable is easy. But, is it really that simple? Well, not really. To dig into...
2020-12-23 (first published: 2020-12-15)
424 reads
SQL In The Wild
On table variable row estimations
At first glance, the question of how many rows are estimated from a table variable is easy. But, is it really that simple? Well, not really. To dig into...
2020-12-15
16 reads
Pluralsight Free April
It’s a few days into April, but not too late I hope to mention that Pluralsight is offering their entire library, free to new accounts, for the month of...
2020-04-16 (first published: 2020-04-07)
523 reads
Pluralsight Free April
It’s a few days into April, but not too late I hope to mention that Pluralsight is offering their entire library, free to new accounts, for the month of...
2020-04-07
9 reads
A rant about presentations
My company’s internal conference is in a couple of weeks, so this seems like a good time to have a...
2018-05-04 (first published: 2018-04-24)
2,359 reads
A rant about presentations
My company’s internal conference is in a couple of weeks, so this seems like a good time to have a quick rant about some presentation failings I’ve seen over...
2018-04-24
16 reads
Revisiting catch-all queries
I originally wrote about catch-all queries early in 2009, just as something that I’d seen several times in client code....
2018-03-26 (first published: 2018-03-13)
4,511 reads
Revisiting catch-all queries
I originally wrote about catch-all queries early in 2009, just as something that I’d seen several times in client code. It turned into the 3rd most popular post ever...
2018-03-13
17 reads
Obsessing over query operator costs
A common problem when looking at execution plans is attributing too much meaning and value of the costs of operators.
The...
2018-02-22 (first published: 2018-02-13)
2,209 reads
Obsessing over query operator costs
A common problem when looking at execution plans is attributing too much meaning and value of the costs of operators. The percentages shown for operators in query plans are...
2018-02-13
11 reads
Blogs
PowerPoint to HTML with Claude AI
By Steve Jones
I had an idea for an animated view of a sales tool, and started...
Don’t Miss Out – SQL Server Query Tuning Fundamentals Starts Next Monday!
Next Monday, February 9, 2026, my one-day live online training SQL Server Query Tuning...
Monday Monitor Tips: SQL Auditing Preview
By Steve Jones
One of the features we advocates have been advocating for is a better way...
Forums
Tame Those Strings (Series)
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Tame Those Strings (Series)
SSRS shared dataset parameters not showing in expression builder
I am creating shared datasets that our executive staff can use for creating reports...
SSRS shared dataset parameters not showing in expression builder
I am creating shared datasets that our executive staff can use for creating reports...
Question of the Day
The Decoded Value
In SQL Server 2025, what is returned from this code:
DECLARE @message VARCHAR(50) = 'Hello SQL Server 2025!'; DECLARE @encoded VARCHAR(MAX); SET @encoded = BASE64_ENCODE(CAST(@message AS VARBINARY(1000))); SELECT BASE64_DECODE(@encoded)See possible answers