Should your SQL Server database use foreign key constraints?
Should SQL Server databases enforce foreign key constraints? A veteran DBA breaks down the real arguments
2026-10-14
Database Design and Implementation
SQL Server Enum Implementation: A Single-Row View Strategy for Avoiding Magic Values
Learn about an alternative strategy for avoiding hardcoded literal values in SQL Server queries by using single-row views designed to mimic enum behavior.
2026-06-26
3,506 reads
2026-04-13
149 reads
SQL Server Data Warehouse Concepts, Schema Design, and Implementation
Companies generate a huge amount of data on a daily basis from such things as sales transactions, inventory changes, and customer interactions. This data originates from different data sources and is stored in operational databases called OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) systems that primary focuses on transactions like data inserts, updates or deletes. Maintaining the transactional data in an OLTP database is important. However, if you need to analyze or report on the data, storing the data in a centralized repository in well-structured schema is necessary.
2026-03-30
What are database keys? A practical guide
There’s not much to database keys, right? When you build a new table, you add a column to act as the primary key, then set it to auto-generate. Done. That’s all there is to know…right?
2026-03-25
Designing SQL Server Pipelines That Are Ready for AI Before You Actually Need AI
Introduction. Why AI Readiness Starts in the Database You probably don’t need machine learning today. Most organizations don’t. You already have reporting dashboards, operational workflows, and business intelligence that work just fine without neural networks or predictive models. That’s not a failure. It’s normal. The problem doesn’t show up immediately. It shows up a few […]
2026-02-27
2,499 reads
Don't Let Corner Cases Drive Your Design
When we design a database or system, we often do so with corner cases in mind. We don't have to do this.
2025-12-01
151 reads
Being Mindful of Design Time
Do you take the time to model and design your database? Steve thinks this is important, even while trying to make changes quicker to adapt to changing requirements.
2025-11-14
175 reads
Poor Name Choice
Steve has a few thoughts on the names we choose for tables, columns, files, and more.
2025-11-07
166 reads
Data Encoding Schemes
Your choice of how you encode data can be significant. With computers and databases, you have a wide range of options. As a programmer, you will likely be called upon at some time in your career to design and coding scheme for particular application. It would really help if you at least avoided designing a bad one.
2025-06-30
Blogs
A Pursuit of Lifelong Learning
By Brian Kelley
The following came across my YouTube feed today. It’s an interview with General James...
Advice I Like: Time and Focus
By Steve Jones
“You don’t need more time because you already have all the time that you...
Book Review: Microsoft 365 Copilot and Agent Administration Fundamentals
I don’t currently manage Microsoft 365 Copilot in an enterprise environment, but it is...
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DML Trigger Types
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Question of the Day
DML Trigger Types
How many types of DML triggers are there?
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