Why UniqueIdentifier is a Bad Choice for a Clustered Index in SQL Server
I had a question today about why it was “bad” to use a UniqueIdentifier as the data type for a...
How to Evaluate Policies on Multiple Instances
This article describes how to Evaluate Policies on Multiple Instances using EPM and PowerShell.
Space in the Clouds
Spatial support is coming to SQL Azure soon, and Steve Jones thinks about how the service could improve this support.
An Un-CATCHable Error?
I've been using the scripting tools in SSIS for some time, but I came across something today that I can't...
SQL Server Column Considerations and Column Placement
Determining which columns to select for your indexes is critical. Having a little knowledge of how your application is using your database columns and how SQL Server processes indexes helps you make good decisions when you create your indexes.
Hunting and Gathering
A guest editorial from Rodney Landrum looks at how we get advice from others in the wild, wild world of the Internet.
SQL Server 2008 T-SQL Enhancements Part - IV
In the fourth installment that looks at T-SQL changes for SQL Server 2008, Ashad Ali examines how the Filestream data type works.
A High Level Comparison Between Oracle and SQL Server - Part II
Part II or the Oracle / SQL Server comparison dives deeper into databases by exploring the architectural differences.
Inserting into an XML document
I was reading through the latest XML Workshop article that I have from Jacob Sebastian. It’s a fantastic series for...
Burnout
What happens when you burnout? Would you recognize when it happens? A guest editorial from Andy Warren talks about some of the signs and what you can do.
Blogs
Automatic Index Compaction
By ReviewMyDB
Index maintenance has always meant nightly jobs and a window you have to defend....
The Goldilocks problem – Materialized Views
I’m sure you’ve all heard the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but...
Monday Monitor Tips: Virtual Machine Usage and Cost
By Steve Jones
One of the things I’ve been requesting for a number of years is cost...
Forums
SQL Art, Part 4: Happy 4th of July — A British DBA's Guide to Celebrating a War We Don't Talk About
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Art, Part 4: Happy...
How We Handled a Vendor Retry That Loaded Twice in Snowflake
Comments posted to this topic are about the item How We Handled a Vendor...
Cognitive Coverage
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Cognitive Coverage
Question of the Day
Getting the Average
I have this data in the dbo.Commission table in a SQL Server 2022 database.
salesperson commission Brian 12 Brian 16 Andy 7 Andy 14 Andy 21 Steve 20 Steve NULLAll the data is a varchar, and I decide to run this query to get the totals for each salesperson.
SELECT SalesPerson
, AVG(TRY_PARSE(Commission AS int)) AS TotalCommission
FROM commission
GROUP BY SalesPerson
GO
What average commission is calculated for Steve? See possible answers