TSQL Challenge 60 - Generate a relational tree structure from a string
Your job is to read a string containing product hierarchy information and generate a relational table (result set) representing the hierarchy of categories.
Free ebook: SQL Server Execution Plans
This free book is brought to you by Red Gate Software and Simple Talk Publishing. Why my query is running slow? Why isn't my index getting used? In order to answer these questions, you have to ask the same return question in each case: have you looked at the execution plan? Grant Fritchey provides the only dedicated and detailed guide to this essential topic.
Monitor SQL Server Replication Jobs
The Replication infrastructure in SQL Server is implemented using SQL Server Agent to execute the various components involved in the form of a job (e.g. LogReader agent job, Distribution agent job, Merge agent job) SQL Server jobs execute a binary executable file which is basically C++ code.
Self-aware Instances
For this Friday's poll, Steve Jones talks about a fundamental architectural decision for your software. Do you want central control or a series of distributed processes, each one self-aware, and able to act on its own.
SQL Overview SSIS Package II - Retrieving SQL Error Log
In Part II of his series on monitoring SQL Servers, David Bird takes a look at importing data from your error logs.
How to develop TSQL Code
The basic texts for developing SQL code tend to leave unsaid the basic techniques for building routines such as stored procedures in TSQL. Phil Factor is well-known for his more lengthy and complex stored procedures, so we asked him to explain in more detail how he goes about developing things without the comfort of Visual Studio.
Measurements
"If you cannot measure something, you cannot improve it." - Lord Kelvin. That quote and a blog about it inspired today's editorial.
The RECOMPILE Options
This artcle attempts to differentiate between the uses of WITH RECOMPILE and OPTION (RECOMPILE) features.
Table Value Constructors in SQL Server 2008
Table Value Constructors (TVCs) are a useful feature of 2008, allowing you to specify tables of values and expressions. Users who are stuck with previous versions of SQL Server can play along, since Rob Sheldon demonstrates that there have always been ways of doing this in SQL Server, though less elegantly.
Blogs
Narrow Task Decomposition in AI Pipeline Agents
A nightly load into sales_fact fails. Ask an orchestrating agent to break down the...
Car Update: August 2026
By Steve Jones
It’s been some time since I provided a car update, so I decided to...
Microsoft Fabric OneLake Shortcuts: When to Use Them and When Not To
By James Serra
An architecture scenario Imagine separate Sales, Finance, Shared Data, and Executive Analytics workspaces. Sales...
Forums
Searching for my own posts
I have a really stupid question... Is there an easy way to search for...
How to Work with On-Premises AI Models to Generate T-SQL Code
Comments posted to this topic are about the item How to Work with On-Premises...
Escaping Strings
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Escaping Strings
Question of the Day
Escaping Strings
The STRING_ESCAPE() function requires 2 parameters in SQL Server 2025. The first is a string of text and the second is the type of escape rules being used. What are the options for the second parameter?
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