Corporate Programming Sucks
Does it suck to be a corporate programmer? Joel Spolsky things so, but Steve Jones takes issue with it.
Toward Integrity Part 5
An exploration of the process of translating a conceptual model to a logical model, and ultimately, a faithful implementation using T-SQL.
When To Use Cursors
Most SQL Server DBAs have been taught that cursors are bad and should not be used. However there are some cases and places where they might be useful. SQL Server guru Andy Warren brings us an example of where they may be handy.
Introduction to Locking in SQL Server
Locking is a major part of every RDBMS and is important to know about. It is a database functionality which without a multi-user environment could not work. The main problem of locking is that in an essence it's a logical and not physical problem. This means that no amount of hardware will help you in the end. Yes you might cut execution times but this is only a virtual fix.
Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Database Backups
Backing up a database is one of the most important things you need to do when having a database driven application. It 's only all of your data in there, right? But often developers and management don't realize the importance of backups and overall proper backup strategy for the most important side of the business – data and it's consistency.
Document Your Database
Computer professionals are constantly complaining about the documentation for the software they use. And are notorious for not documenting their own code very well. Longtime author Raj Vasant brings us a short article with some suggestions on how to go about documenting your databases.
The Job Outlook for 2008
What will happen in the job market for DBAs this year? Steve Jones gives a few opinions based on what is happening in the industry.
View Column Resolving Issue in Sub-Query
Views are handy constructs for abstracting security and simplfying queries, but they can have unexpected results sometimes. Longtime DBA Peter He takes a look at subquery issues in views.
MDX Numeric Functions: The Max() Function
Business Intelligence Architect Bill Pearson introduces the numeric Max()function, and leads hands-on practice examples of the basic concepts.
Top 10 SQL Server Integration Services and DTS tips
Top SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) tips from migrating and running DTS packages, to SSIS debugging, maintenance and programming in SQL Server 2005.
Blogs
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...
SQL Server Journey Part 2: Modern Era (2017 – 2026) – AI/Cloud First
By Vinay Thakur
Following up on my Part 1 baseline, the journey from 2017 onward changed how...
Forums
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...
An Unusual Identity
Comments posted to this topic are about the item An Unusual Identity
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