Master Training
Steve Jones talks about the value of deep training. He is aiming to get some from SQLskills this year as part of their MCM training series, even without trying to pass the certification.
SQL Server Central Webinar Series #8: Creating smaller and comprehensively verified backups
The next webinar from SQLServerCentral will look at backups and how you can create faster, smaller, and verified backups. Join Steve Jones and Rodney Landrum for this presentation on SQL Backup Pro and SQL Virtual Restore
31 Days of SSIS – Data Flow Expressions (22/31)
31 Days of SSIS
Today, we continue on with the 31 Days of SSIS blog series. Yesterday’s post was on the...
Connect to a SQL Azure Database Using SSMS or SQLCMD
Learn how you can connect to a SQL Azure database.
DBA 101: Why is my log file full?
This question comes up constantly in different venues. I see it sometimes 2-3 times a day on SQL Server Central....
Distincting an IN subquery
This is going to be a quick one…
I keep seeing forum code (and production code) that includes the DISTINCT in...
ERROR_PROCEDURE Does Not Return a Schema Name
"A recent blog entry I read reminded me again that I wanted to rant about an issue in SQL Server for quite some time now. SQL Server 2005 introduced the separation between user and schema. Though schemata already existed before SQL Server 2005, they really became usable with this version, imho. At the same time TRY...CATCH was a new way for structured error handling introduced. And so it finally became possible…"
31 Days of SSIS – SQL Server Configuration (18/31)
31 Days of SSIS
The last post in the 31 Days of SSIS talked about the use of environmental variables. As...
How to Speed up MS SQL Reporting Services on First Run
I set up a new instance of MS SQL Server Reporting Services, but I noticed that it starts up very slow and I have to wait for ages to access the site. I also noticed that it is always slow when it has not been used for a certain period of time.
Read from the Right End of the Index: BACKWARD Scans
Optimizing queries is the most fun when you don’t need to add indexes. There’s nothing quite so nice as finding...
Blogs
PlanTrace: Stop Reading Redshift EXPLAIN Plans. Start Seeing Them
PlanTrace: Stop Reading Redshift EXPLAIN Plans. Start Seeing Them Introducing PlanTrace — a free, browser-based...
A Cloud Dependency Failure from Amazon
By Steve Jones
I went to sleep while reading a Kindle book on my phone. I know...
Deploying AI in logistics (the unfiltered version)
A conversation with Jan Laš, CIO at HOPI, about what deploying a data agent...
Forums
SPAM Issues May 2026
We suffered a SPAM attack from May 1-6, which unfortunately corresponded with time off...
SQL Password enforcing
Hi to all We have situation at a client where someone is illegally changing...
SQL Password enforcing
Hi to all We have situation at a client where someone is illegally changing...
Question of the Day
Creating a JSON Document III
I have this data in a table called dbo.NFLTeams
TeamID TeamName City YearEstablished ------ -------- ---- --------------- 1 Cowboys Dallas 1960 2 Eagles Philadelphia 1933 3 Packers Green Bay 1919 4 Chiefs Kansas City 1960 5 49ers San Francisco 1946 6 Broncos Denver 1960 7 Seahawks Seattle 1976 8 Patriots New England 1960If I run this code, how many rows are returned?
SELECT TOP 2
json_objectagg('Team' : TeamName)
FROM dbo.NFLTeams;
See possible answers