Make Meetings Fun
Today we have a guest editorial from Andy Warren as Steve Jones is at SQL Server Connections. Today Andy talks about how we can make those dreaded daily events, meetings, better.
The Clonesome Database
You need a quiet couple of hours poking about with DMVs, and checking execution plans to get to the bottom of the a query issue, but you can't make a copy the production database either. It's too big, and the data is private....
Using SQL Server's Output Clause
When you are inserting, updating, or deleting records from a table, SQL Server keeps track of the records that are changed in two different pseudo tables: INSERTED, and DELETED. These tables are normally used in DML triggers. If you use the OUTPUT clause on an INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE or MERGE statement you can expose the records that go to these pseudo tables to your application and/or T-SQL code.
Dealing with custom date formats in T-SQL
Should I be formatting dates on the database side? What tools can I use in SQL Server to format and parse dates? This article helps you decide which one best suits your needs.
The Maintenance Poll
This Friday Steve Jones asks about maintenance. Do you have regular windows? Flex time? Or is maintenance just added on whenever it is needed and added onto your work week.
Creating a Map Report in SSRS - SQL Server 2008 R2
SQL Server 2008 R2 brought several new features into the SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) arena. In the data visualization category, we now have three additional ways to display and visualize/analyze data in the reports.
A Demo of the Power of Powershell
This demo will show you the how powerfull is powershell. We will use cicles and the get-content command.
A Personality Test
Today we have a guest editorial from Andy Warren as Steve Jones is on vacation. Today Andy talks about personality tests and what they might tell you about yourself.
Managing and Connecting to AlwaysOn Availability Groups
From the previous AlwaysOn Availability Group article, we provided a name for the availability group listener which is simply a unique DNS name as a Virtual Network Name (VNN) to direct read-write requests to the primary replica and read-only requests to the read-only secondary replica.
Basics of XML and SQL Server, Part 3: Transform and Shred XML in SSIS
This SSIS package performs multiple XSL transformations on an XML document, then shreds the transformed document and inserts its data into a SQL Server table.
Blogs
ISACA AI Material/Exam Prep Discount (May 18 – June 30, 2026)
By Brian Kelley
If you are considering any of the ISACA AI certs like the Advanced Artificial...
A Fabric solution can be very cost effective
By ChrisJenkins
Are you currently using Microsoft Fabric or considering migrating to it? If so, there...
Track SQL Server Configuration Changes Using the Error Log
By SQLPals
Track SQL Server Configuration Changes Using the Error Log If you...
Forums
We Are Eating Our Own Seed Corn
Comments posted to this topic are about the item We Are Eating Our Own...
Before Using AI with Business Data, Read This
Artificial intelligence tools are quickly becoming part of daily business operations, from document analysis...
Designing SQL Server ETL Pipelines That Don't Break at Scale
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Designing SQL Server ETL Pipelines...
Question of the Day
Detecting Deadlocks Quickly
In the Database Engine, when a deadlock is detected, what does the detection interval shrink to (in time)?
See possible answers