First, definitely don't store pre-formatted data (ex: "$1200.50" or "01/11/2017 09:12AM") in the table as VARCHAR columns. That's a bad idea because it obstructs your ability to sum, evaluate, and...

.. Certainly I expect lots of (free) Express editions installed by developers, which will allow them to gain experience, and perhaps be more comfortable in the future with SQL Server...

This U-SQL is the most exciting new language to come on the scene since Esperanto.

ScottPletcher (1/10/2017)

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I specialize in tuning, particularly index tuning, and I tend strongly toward the larger, shared index rather than separate indexes. Be aware that if the index needs scanned,...

When I look in MSDN subscriber downloads, I see x86 and x64 versions for SQL Server 2014. However, I don't see it for 2016.

What are the specs (hardware and OS)...

I believe there are two trends going on here that work in favor of SQL Server. One is simply that SQL Server 2014 and 2016 introduced or matured a number...

Phil,

The name of the this article "Keeping up to, and down with, Date"; I get that it's a pun making reference to the mathematician, relational database pioneer, and author Christopher...

The other day while cleaning out the garage, I stumbled across a box full of old IT books. One was a late 1980s era edition of "Oh! PASCAL!" by Doug...

For what it's worth, a few days back, I posted a script to query details about objects are allocated in TEMPDB, including the SPID, application, procedure name, and SQL statement...

Based on feedback, I have submitted an updated version that uses tempdb (lowercase) to compensate for servers with case sensitivity enabled. Also I have extended it to include additional columns...

I don't think you've posted the SQL select statement, but even though the final returned result is only 300k rows, just looking at the execution plan, I'm seeing table spool...

I guess everyone has their own coding standard, but I prefer to place most NOLOCK hints I see between two asterisk / backslash like this:

/* NOLOCK */

😉

I'd like to renew my Microsoft certification. I routinely work on everything from SQL Server 2005 - 2016 and Azure on a daily basis, but it's hard to believe my...

Steve Jones - SSC Editor (1/5/2017)

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Eric M Russell (1/5/2017)

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Broadly speaking, I'm free market and libertarian when it comes to cultural freedom and limiting government. However, when it comes to privacy...

Yeah, go under Help.. About.. menu to see the version of SSMS you're running.