Natural Language Query for SQL Server

Data is usually the most important asset in organizations, but only SQL developers can frequently access that data. Technical teams often write queries for non-technical users. This restricts agility, slows decision-making, and creates a bottleneck in data accessibility. One possible remedy is natural language processing (NLP), which enables users to ask questions in simple English and receive answers without knowing any code. Still, the majority of NLP-to-SQL solutions are cloud-based, which raises issues with cost and privacy.

Vector Datatype

The New SQL Server 2025 Data type

Build a Test Lab of SQL Server 2025 on Windows Server 2025 using Hyper-V Virtual Machines

Create your own test lab on Hyper-V to evaluate SQL Server 2025 and Windows Server 2025

How to Use the New PRODUCT() Function in SQL Server 2025

Introduced in SQL Server 2025 CTP 1.3, the PRODUCT() function acts similarly to SUM(), but multiplies values rather than adds them. It is an aggregate function in SQL Server and therefore operates on a data set, rather than on scalar values.

Columnstore Index Improvements in SQL Server 2025

Columnstore indexes are a powerful tool for storing analytic data directly in SQL Server. This feature has improved in every version of SQL Server since their inception over ten years ago, and SQL Server 2025 is no exception!

Your Favorite Improvement

This Friday Steve asks about what you're looking forward to in SQL Server 2025, if anything.

New Backup Compression

Split strings by Regular Expressions in SQL Server 2025

SQL Server users have been asking for native regular expression support for over two decades. There are third-party Common Language Runtime (CLR) modules that offer this functionality, but these can be complicated to install and simply aren’t possible in some environments. I want to split a string using a regular expression instead of a static string. Will that be possible in SQL Server 2025, without CLR?

How SQL Server 2025’s Optional Parameter Plan Optimization Works

SQL Server 2025 improved PSPO to handle multiple predicates that might have parameter sensitivity, and that’s great! I love it when Microsoft ships a v1 feature, and then gradually iterates over to make it better. Adaptive Memory Grants were a similar investment that got improved over time, and today they’re fantastic.