Breaking Down Your Work
Self-assessment and self-examination can be important in many fields, especially technology in the age of AI.
SQL Art 2: St Patrick’s Day in SSMS (Shamrock + Pint + Pixel Text)
Last time we turned SQL Server into a Christmas tree. Every year around St Patrick's Day I find myself doing something I can't fully justify. This year that thing was using SQL Server's spatial viewer to draw a shamrock and a pint of Guinness. Hope you have a happy St Patrick's Day and a few […]
I’m Not Gonna Waste Time Debunking Crap on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is full of absolute trash these days. Just flat out b****** garbage. (Oh yeah, that – this post should probably come with a language disclaimer, because this stuff makes me mad.)
How to Use sqlpackage to Detect Schema Drift Between Azure SQL Databases
This article explains how I use sqlpackage to detect schema drift and generate a delta script that shows exactly what’s different.
Multiple Deployment Processes
Many organizations haven't standardized the way they deploy code to databases, even when they do so for applications. Steve has a few thoughts on this today.
What’s New in SSMS 22
SSMS 22 has several new features. Is there a compilation list of the new features? How will these features help me as a SQL Server professional?
A Full Shutdown
Steve used to shut down systems to upgrade them, but lately he makes changes while they're running.
Going Native with Fabric Spark Pools: The Fabric Modern Data Platform
The next installment of the Fabric Modern Data Platform looks at Spark pools for executing code.
Getting Started with mssql-python for Data Developers
rogrammatic interaction with SQL Server or Azure SQL from a Python script is possible using a driver. A popular driver has been pyodbc that can be used standalone or with a SQLAlchemy wrapper. SQLAlchemy on its own is the Python SQL toolkit and Object Relational Mapper for developers. In the end of 2025 Microsoft released v1 of their own Python SQL driver called mssql-python. How do you get started using mssql-python for programmatic access to your SQL Server?
Designing Delta Tables with Liquid Clustering: Real-World Patterns for Data Engineers
Get a short introduction to Liquid Clustering in Databricks.
Blogs
Databases and AI Agents
By Arun Sirpal
As part of my wider work exploring Claude Code and AI-assisted database engineering, I...
Creating a Pulsing Conducting Baton - Part 1
By Bert Wagner
Train Wreck The last time I watched a high school band nearly fall apart mid-performance...
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...
Forums
Why Your Index Isn't Being Used? - Reading Execution Plans to Find the Real Culprit
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Why Your Index Isn't Being...
Distance Metric Algorithms
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Distance Metric Algorithms
What Can AI Really Do?
Comments posted to this topic are about the item What Can AI Really Do?
Question of the Day
Distance Metric Algorithms
What are the distance metric algorithms that can be used in VECTOR_DISTANCE()?
See possible answers