The Technical Debt Anchor
Technical debt is something all of us deal with in our systems, and today Steve has a few thoughts on the impact of debt on database sysstems.
2025-06-25
144 reads
software development
Patching the Patch
If you have had to fix the thing you just fixed with a fix, you might enjoy today's editorial.
2025-06-16
92 reads
Reflecting on the Mythical Man Month
Steve looks back at the Mythical Man Month, a book every software engineer and manager should read.
2025-06-06
96 reads
Database First or Application First
Today Steve is wondering how you approach coordinating application and database changes. Share which one you deploy first.
2025-04-16
158 reads
Using Feature Flags
Feature flags are being used in modern software development. Steve thinks these should also be a staple of database changes.
2025-04-07
203 reads
Monoliths and Microservices
Should we build modern software as monoliths or microservices? Or something else? Steve has a few thoughts today.
2025-03-24
127 reads
No End to Programmers
The idea of chat-oriented programming has led some people to think that AI LLMs will reduce the need for programmers. Steve disagrees.
2025-02-08
124 reads
Simple(r) Coffee
Choice is good, but too much choice can cause problems in both coffee shops and software teams, as Steve notes today.
2025-01-13
119 reads
Why Would You Do That?
We look at problems in different ways and Steve notes this can help or hinder us in software development.
2024-12-09
117 reads
The Pervasive Nature of Open Source
This week there was a headline that said "Open Source Software Powers 96% of Modern Applications, New Study Finds" and if you stopped reading there, you might think, hey, it's not in the apps I work on. Or you might think that because you use OSS software, most of the world also does. Microsoft, Oracle, […]
2024-12-07
82 reads
Blogs
TSQL Tuesday #188 Growing community
I am responding late to a T-SQL Tuesday invite from John Sterrett. John’s call...
Time to Revive our YouTube Channel
It’s been forgotten about and neglected for few years but I’ve decided to dust...
Microsoft MVP 2025: Continuing the Data Platform Journey
I am honored to announce that I have been renewed as a Microsoft MVP...
Forums
How a Legacy Logic Choked SQL Server in a 30-Year-Old Factory
Comments posted to this topic are about the item How a Legacy Logic Choked...
Navigating Multi Platform Realities in My Database Life
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Navigating Multi Platform Realities in...
Import/Export SSMS Settings issue
I have tried a number of times to export and then import my SSMS...
Question of the Day
Query Plan Regressions --
For the Question of the day, I am going to go deep, but try to be more clear, as I feel like I didn't give enough info last time, leading folks to guess the wrong answer... :) For today's question: You’re troubleshooting a performance issue on a critical stored procedure. You notice that a previously efficient query now performs a full table scan instead of an index seek. Upon investigating, you find that an NVARCHAR parameter is being compared to a VARCHAR column in the WHERE clause. What is the most likely cause of the query plan regression?
See possible answers