2026-06-12
1,340 reads
Tools for development
SSMS Copilot is Messing With Your AI Prompts
You might notice that the advice you get from Copilot in SSMS isn’t very good, but it isn’t necessarily AI in general. Part of the problem is something specific about SSMS Copilot and the way it prompts LLMs, and I wish I could tell you exactly what it is, but I can’t because I don’t have access to how SSMS is changing your prompts.
2026-06-10
2026-06-05
1,230 reads
A Tool is Better than a Script
Tools are important to DBAs, but they need to be reliable, both in what they do, and how they work.
2026-05-01
163 reads
Query Hint Recommendation Tool in SSMS 22
SQL Server Management Studio keeps adding features, but unless you look you probably don’t notice. In this article, we look at the new Query Hint Recommendation Tool in SSMS 2022 and how this can be used.
2026-03-18
Getting Started with mssql-python for Data Developers
rogrammatic interaction with SQL Server or Azure SQL from a Python script is possible using a driver. A popular driver has been pyodbc that can be used standalone or with a SQLAlchemy wrapper. SQLAlchemy on its own is the Python SQL toolkit and Object Relational Mapper for developers. In the end of 2025 Microsoft released v1 of their own Python SQL driver called mssql-python. How do you get started using mssql-python for programmatic access to your SQL Server?
2026-03-11
How Well Does the MSSQL Extension in VSCode Work?
A short look at the MSSQL extension for VS Code, getting started with connections and running queries.
2025-09-22
9,402 reads
A First Look at SSMS 21
This isn't really a first look, per se. I've seen Erin Stellato present on this a few times in MVP sessions and at the PASS Data Community Summit. However, this is a look on my machine, where I'm in control. The new version preview was announced recently, and this looks at the new process to […]
2024-11-25
18,926 reads
Using Registered Servers in SSMS
One of the features in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) that I find very useful is to have a list of registered servers and databases in SSMS. This lets me quickly pick from a number of servers rather than flipping the drop down in the connection dialog. This post looks at this feature and how […]
2024-07-31
7,416 reads
2024-06-17
16,834 reads
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Question of the Day
Changing the Schema
I set up a few users on my SQL Server 2022 instance.
CREATE LOGIN User1 WITH PASSWORD = 'Demo12#1' CREATE USER User1 FOR LOGIN User1 GO CREATE LOGIN User2 WITH PASSWORD = 'Demo12#2' CREATE USER User2 FOR LOGIN User2 GO CREATE LOGIN User3 WITH PASSWORD = 'Demo12#3' CREATE USER User3 FOR LOGIN User3 GOI then created a schema that one of them owned. Under this schema, I added a table with some data.
CREATE SCHEMA MySchema AUTHORIZATION User1
GO
CREATE TABLE Myschema.MyTable(myid INT)
GO
INSERT MySchema.MyTable
(
myid
)
VALUES
(1), (2), (3)
GO
SELECT * FROM MySchema.MyTable
GO
I granted rights and verified that User2 could access this table.
GRANT SELECT ON Myschema.MyTable TO User2 GO SETUSER 'USER2' GO SELECT * FROM MySchema.MyTable GOThis worked. Now, I move this schema to a new user.
ALTER AUTHORIZATION ON SCHEMA::Myschema TO User3; GOWhat happens with this code?
SETUSER 'USER2' GO SELECT * FROM MySchema.MyTable GOSee possible answers