Full backups, the log chain and the COPY_ONLY option.
There have been a large number of posts made regarding the interaction between full database backups and the log chain...
2011-03-08
1,353 reads
SQL In The Wild
And now for a completely inappropriate use of SQL Server
A while back I wrote up a short introductory overview of Genetic Algorithms. Just for the shear, absolute fun of...
2011-02-22
1,584 reads
Are int joins faster than string joins?
This one comes up a lot on the forums, often as advice given…
“You should use integers for the key rather...
2011-02-15
5,545 reads
Quest Webcast: Dos and Don’ts of Database corruption
I was guest presenter on last week’s Quest Pain of the Week presentation. The presentation is available for download from...
2011-02-14
653 reads
Is a clustered index best for range queries?
I see a lot of advice that talks about the clustered index been the best index for use for range...
2011-02-01
1,763 reads
Upcoming presentations
It’s looking like it’s going to be a busy year.
It’s only January and I already have three presentations lined up...
2011-01-28
547 reads
Distincting an IN subquery
This is going to be a quick one…
I keep seeing forum code (and production code) that includes the DISTINCT in...
2011-01-18
6,167 reads
Capturing the Execution Plan
One last post on execution plans and Profiler (at least for now)
When trying to check a query’s execution plan, the...
2011-01-04
1,398 reads
Do IF statements cause recompiles?
I heard this one over at SSC a while back. “Avoid IF statements in stored procedures as they result in...
2010-12-14
1,500 reads
Recompiles
I’ve looked at cache hit and miss events and at the cache insert and remove events. The only cache-monitoring event...
2010-11-18
2,170 reads
Blogs
How to Clear the SSMS Cache (SSMS 21 and Later)
By SQLPals
How to Clear the SSMS Cache (SSMS 21 and Later) Updated...
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...
Forums
Let's Talk Certifications
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Let's Talk Certifications
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