Instead of Trigger, Part 1 - SQL School Video
If you have never used an instead of trigger, it's a great mechanism for evading table triggers in certain situations. MVP Andy Warren brings you part one of this SQL School video.
Music for DBAs
Tony Davis explains his theory on why developers and DBAs listen to very different types of music, while working, and offers his list of "classic tracks" for all DBAs.
10+ tips for working smarter with SQL
The sharper your SQL skills become, the more robust and error-free your solutions will be. Here are a dozen practical tips to get you started
Limit Groups by Number Using Transact-SQL or MS Access
You can easily limit or group a recordset, but doing both to the same recordset takes a bit of hand coding. Find out how both SQL Server and MS Access can handle the task.
SSIS - Creating a Deployment Manifest
Using a Deployment Manifest in SSIS allows you to deploy a set of packages to a target location using a wizard for installing your packages. The benefit to using it is the nice user interface that a wizard provides. The disadvantage of using it is it’s lack of flexibility. When using the Deployment Manifest keep in mind...
Recharged on the 4th of July
After a week of vacation, Steve Jones feels recharged and ready to head back to work. Today we celebrate the holiday with a blooper reel.
SQL Server Memory Configuration, Determining MemToLeave Settings
Tweaking SQL Server memory settings to provide support for managed code.
The Busman's Holiday
It's a holiday weekend, but for some DBA's it's hard to escape the unwanted clutches of IT...
Different ways to execute an SSIS package
In SQL Server 2005 and higher versions there are different ways in which one can execute an SSIS package. Let us go through each option one by one.
How to Identify Important Characteristics for a DBA Job Candidate
In the last year or so, there have been a lot of articles, blog entries,and forum posts on the kinds of technical questions hiring managers can ask a prospective DBA candidate in order to determine their technical proficiency. While technical skills are...
Blogs
Who Are You Doing It For?
By Brian Kelley
But as I've matured over the years, I came to realize that I needed...
Presenting Twice in May 2026
By alevyinroc
I will be presenting my latest session, Documenting Your Work for Worry-Free Vacations, in-person...
Finding the Next Sequence Value: #SQLNewBlogger
By Steve Jones
I saw a question asking about the next sequence value and decided to try...
Forums
DB Design Methods
I've read a few posts regarding what we use to design DB models and...
Auto Update Statistics not triggering on filtered indexes
I've got a table with 186,703,969 rows, about 300GB of data. There are several...
What is the difference between SQL Server and SQL Database?
I created a SQL Database in Azure Portal but I've just noticed it also...
Question of the Day
An Unusual Identity
What values are returned when I run this code?
CREATE TABLE dbo.IdentityTest2
(
id NUMERIC(10,0) IDENTITY(10,10) PRIMARY KEY,
somevalue VARCHAR(20)
)
GO
INSERT dbo.IdentityTest2
(
somevalue
)
VALUES
( 'Steve')
, ('Bill')
GO
SELECT top 10
id
FROM dbo.IdentityTest2 See possible answers