How do I look at my error log if SQL won’t open?

Quick and easy post today. Hopefully you’ve opened the error log on a SQL instance. However, what happens if you...

What is the Object Explorer Details tab good for?

For a long time there I would see the Object Explorer Details tab show up when I opened SSMS (SQL...

Highlighting sp_spaceused

I’ve been using sp_spaceused a lot recently so I thought I would bring it up again. Basically it’s a quick...

Which is faster? IN (list) or IN (SELECT FROM Temp)

If you’ve done much with IN (list) then you’ve realized that it basically translates out to
col=val1 OR col=val2 OR...

Letting the business bully you: T-SQL Tuesday #107

Before I start anything I want go give a disclaimer. I absolutely believe that the business should be involved in...

Generate a random number of children for each parent

I was asked an interesting question the other day.
Is it possible to get a different random number of rows...

SQL Homework – October 2018 – Time for an upgrade

When you created your home lab last September you probably installed a version of SQL 2016. Well, SQL 2017 was...

Data Types Word Search

Just for fun here is a word search with all of the data types available in SQL Server. Well, two...

Escaping strings

No, I’m not talking about that nightmare everyone has where a bunch of strings are chasing you across a loom.
Not...

You can’t DELETE TOP (x) with an ORDER BY

Did you know you can’t do this?
DELETE TOP (10)
FROM SalesOrderDetail
ORDER BY SalesOrderID DESC;Msg 156, Level 15, State 1, Line 8

Incorrect...