Depending on your age, you may not want to know this number, but as you advance in your career, this might be a problem that you look to solve one day. Peter Larsson takes a few minutes to work out a function in T-SQL that can be used to solve this or any similar question.
2006-07-19
14,220 reads
The latest puzzle craze seems to be Sudoko with all kinds of online puzzles, books, etc. appearing around the world. Longtime SQL Server guru David Poole decided solving the puzzles was not enough of a challenge and brings us some T-SQL to help solve those difficult ones keeping you from getting back to work.
2006-06-22
17,672 reads
You can build very powerful and flexible text-formatting solutions in SQL Server. Learn how to apply techniques that handle the simplest to the more complex text-formatting tasks.
2006-06-20
3,557 reads
One of the seeminly more popular enhancements in SQL Server 2005 to T-SQL is the PIVOT operator. There have been quite a few articles, but new author Peter Larsson decomposes in detail how you can perform this operation with previous versions.
2007-10-02 (first published: 2006-06-12)
76,033 reads
Working with outer joins can be tricky since the syntax doesn't always appear to make sense. Grant Fritchey brings us a great example of how this confusion can cause issues if you use the old style syntax.
2006-05-15
15,149 reads
Processing text or long strings usually reduces SQL to a prosaic procedural language. Learn a few techniques for facilitating speedy text processing in SQL.
2006-05-10
5,032 reads
After introducing us to a comprehensive encryption toolkit in part I, Michael Coles delves into Regular Expressions and the functions included in the toolkit for use on SQL Server 2000.
2007-10-03 (first published: 2006-04-20)
21,324 reads
What is the most efficient way of generating a range of values? SQL Server guru David Poole takes a look at a few different methods, both procedural and set based, and gives you some performance results.
2006-04-12
10,511 reads
The aggregate functions in SQL Server (min, max, sum, count, average, etc.) are great tools for reporting and business analysis. But sometimes, you need to tweak them just a little bit to get exactly the results you need. For example, if your manager came to you and asked for a report on how many sales have been made to your clients and how large they were, would you know how to get the data you need efficiently? Mark ran into something like this recently and here's the approach he took to solve the problem.
2006-01-25
3,507 reads
In the days when I contentedly cut procedural code, I was puzzled by the visceral rages of the database specialists; they were like the ship’s cook occasionally going berserk with a meat-cleaver. After I switched to database work, I realized why.”
2006-01-02
3,504 reads
By Steve Jones
This month we have a new host, Meagan Longoria, who graciously agreed to help...
By Steve Jones
I’m at the UK Redgate office today, meeting with senior leaders in all areas...
Optimizing Azure SQL Database performance often begins with identifying the most resource-intensive queries. Understanding...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SSRS Is Dead. Here Are...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Distance Metric
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The New Wave of Security...
In the new VECTOR_DISTANCE() function in SQL Server 2025, the first parameter is the distance_metric. What is this?
See possible answers