Extended Events Misperceptions: Profiler is Easier, Part 2
I wrote a short blog post about the misperception that Profiler was easier than Extended Events when it came to the core concept of “click, connect, BOOM, too much...
2020-01-27
28 reads
CREATE TABLE MyTable (Col1 CHARACTER VARYING (50))
If you read the title to this post and your first thought was That’s not SQL is it? then you ... Continue reading
2020-02-05 (first published: 2020-01-27)
875 reads
Is NoSQL still a thing?
G’day, Looking back, perhaps one of the (many) mistakes that I’ve made in my career was to initially ignore the N0SQL movement. I’ve focused my career on Relational Database...
2020-01-27
41 reads
sys.xp_delete_files and ‘allow filesystem enumeration’: two new undocumented items in SQL Server 2019
sys.xp_delete_files and 'allow filesystem enumeration': two new undocumented items in SQL Server 2019… Continue reading sys.xp_delete_files and ‘allow filesystem enumeration’: two new undocumented items in SQL Server 2019 ?
2020-01-27
617 reads
Do It Live! A First Look at Redgate’s Hybrid Model for SQL Source Control and SQL Change Automation (video)
In this 70 minute livestream recording, I kick the tires of a fresh new Azure DevOps demo environment showing Redgate’s Hybrid Model for SQL Source Control and SQL Change...
2020-01-25
49 reads
Actual Difference Between EXISTS(SELECT 1 …), EXISTS(SELECT * …), and EXISTS(SELECT column …)
Is EXISTS(SELECT 1 ...) better than EXISTS(SELECT * ...)? Who would know better than SQL Server?… Continue reading Actual Difference Between EXISTS(SELECT 1 …), EXISTS(SELECT * …), and EXISTS(SELECT...
2020-02-03 (first published: 2020-01-24)
3,287 reads
ANSI_WARNINGS = OFF can break update statements with some SQL features
Working on a SQL 2017 database where an external, non-Microsoft application has direct access to read/write data via the ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server.
They suddenly began to experience...
2020-02-04 (first published: 2020-01-24)
415 reads
Bring Your Own Key to Azure SQL Database Managed Instance TDE
Last year Azure SQL Database Managed Instance saw the introduction of bring your own key (BYOK) functionality for transparent data encryption (TDE). This functionality has been in the singleton...
2020-01-24
37 reads
Bring Your Own Key to Azure SQL Database Managed Instance TDE
Last year Azure SQL Database Managed Instance saw the introduction of bring your own key (BYOK) functionality for transparent data encryption (TDE). This functionality has been in the singleton...
2020-01-24
36 reads
Bring Your Own Key to Azure SQL Database Managed Instance TDE
Last year Azure SQL Database Managed Instance saw the introduction of bring your own key (BYOK) functionality for transparent data encryption (TDE). This functionality has been in the singleton...
2020-01-24
42 reads
Blogs
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...
Au Revoir for now
By Steve Jones
No, I’m not quitting or retiring. Just going on vacation, but I leave tonight...
Forums
Let's Talk Certifications
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Let's Talk Certifications, which is...
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