2025-09-19
1,554 reads
T-SQL
Revisiting SQL Server Window Functions- A Practical Walkthrough
A look at window functions in SQL and how they can be used to query data without the restrictions of a GROUP BY.
2025-09-12
5,438 reads
How to Increase SQL Server Column Width Without IO (Input/Output) Overhead
This article dives into a fun (and interesting!) strategy for widening fixed-width columns in SQL Server, to reduce downtime, risk, and runtime at the time when a column’s data type needs to be changed.
2025-09-12
2025-09-12
1,629 reads
2025-09-10
1,827 reads
2025-09-03
1,899 reads
Picking the ON or WHERE Clause for the SQL Predicate
Helping people solve T-SQL problems is one of my favorite hobbies. Someone messaged me the other day with a complex query that was almost complete except for one issue. He needed to perform a LEFT OUTER JOIN but had to filter based on a value from the right table. However, when he added the filter, SQL removed rows from the left table. The task was to decide where to place the SQL predicate: in the ON or WHERE clause.
2025-09-01
From Rows to Pages: The Hidden Chaos Behind SQL Server’s Sampling Methods
Learn about the TABLESAMPLE option in T-SQL and uncover some of the pitfalls of assuming this works as you think it does.
2025-08-22
2,059 reads
2025-08-20
473 reads
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?
2025-08-18
Blogs
Retro Data 2025 – Slidedeck
You can find the slides of my session on the €100 DWH in Azure...
The Book of Redgate: We Value Teams
By Steve Jones
This value is something that I still hear today: our best work is done...
Troubleshooting TempDB Log Full Errors When SSMS Won’t Connect
By gbargsley
Have you ever received the dreaded error from SQL Server that the TempDB log...
Forums
Is there a way for SP to know who called it?
Hi everyone I am writing an SP where there is logic inside the SP...
Planning for tomorrow, today - database migrations
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Planning for tomorrow, today -...
Bottlenecks on SQL Server performance
We have a BI-application that connects to input tables on a SQL Server 2022...
Question of the Day
The Tightly Linked View
I try to run this code on SQL Server 2022. All the objects exist in the database.
CREATE OR ALTER VIEW OrderShipping
AS
SELECT cl.CityNameID,
cl.CityName,
o.OrderID,
o.Customer,
o.OrderDate,
o.CustomerID,
o.cityId
FROM dbo.CityList AS cl
INNER JOIN dbo.[Order] AS o ON o.cityId = cl.CityNameID
GO
CREATE OR ALTER FUNCTION GetShipCityForOrder
(
@OrderID INT
)
RETURNS VARCHAR(50)
WITH SCHEMABINDING
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE @city VARCHAR(50);
SELECT @city = os.CityName
FROM dbo.OrderShipping AS os
WHERE os.OrderID = @OrderID;
RETURN @city;
END;
go
What is the result? See possible answers