Awesome new features in SQL Server 2011 “Denali”: IIF and CHOOSE functions
SQL Server 2011 “Denali” introduces two new features for flow control which may help you to keep your T-SQL cleaner than...
2011-08-02
616 reads
SQL Treeo
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly SQL Cursor types
T-SQL cursors are generally bad approach and are often misused. In today’s world of correlated subqueries, CTE’s, recursive CTE’s, ranking...
2011-07-30
1,936 reads
SQL Azure – simple description, part I.
I was studying SQL Azure parameters some time ago and found out that there are no materials which tell you...
2011-07-29
1,768 reads
T-SQL refactoring
Keeping your SQL objects’ naming rules during furious development is hard. New levels of information are added continuously, entities are...
2011-07-28
2,732 reads
Fastest row counting method
SELECT COUNT(*) is most common method (and exact) how to find out how many records is in table. There is...
2011-07-26
6,371 reads
Partial name matching in SQL Server 2011 “Denali”
While playing with SQL Server 2011 “Denali”, I’ve accidentally found out that it has slightly enhanced intellisense in SSMS. There...
2011-07-21
1,381 reads
Article: How to use temporary table in function
Steve Jones from voiceofthedba.com, editor on SQLServerCentral.com gave me an opportunity to publish humble article about workaround solution for using...
2011-07-21
494 reads
Custom folders SSMS Add-In slightly delayed
I am desperately trying to finalize this add-in and it is very very close. I was performing another testing on...
2011-07-17
539 reads
SQL Injection is still actual :)
Here are two samples showing that SQL Injection is still here and dangerous !!!
source:xkcd.com
This use case is especially insidious
2011-07-16
667 reads
Tracking table changes seamlessly with Change Data Capture (CDC)
I am going to describe quite forgotten feature in SQL Server 2008. It is Change Data Capture (CDC) – powerful feature...
2011-07-15
2,497 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
Delta Lake: The Definitive Guide: Modern Data Lakehouse Architectures with Data Lakes
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Delta Lake: The Definitive Guide:...
Databricks Data Intelligence Platform: Unlocking the GenAI Revolution
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Databricks Data Intelligence Platform: Unlocking...
Storytelling with Data: Let's Practice!
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Storytelling with Data: Let's Practice!
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