SQL Server 2008 is well on its way to being complete and released with the release of the second CTP recently. There aren't a tremendous number of changes, but one of the more interesting ones is the changes to date and time handling in this new platform. The time and date datatypes have been separated and longtime SQL Server author Vincent Rainardi brings us a short look at how there can be used.
The vast majority of us never work on high volume systems. And I mean high volume systems, like backing a web server that gets millions of hits in a few minutes, which might result in tens of millions of database queries in the same amount of time.
What is the best way to return the "duration" of an event in SQL, given the start and end datetime values? How can we add up these durations to return grand totals? What data types should be used to return this data to our clients? How do we handle overflows, such as when hours go over 23 or minutes total up to over 59? Are there any T-SQL functions or other techniques that are useful in these scenarios?
From one of the SQL Server 2005 storage engine lead developers comes this look at the impact of using the NO_LOG and TRUNCATE_ONLY options.
Performance tuning is an art or science, depending on who you talk to. SQL Server guru Joe Sack has authored a book on SQL Server 2005 T-SQL and brings us the performance tuning chapter as a preview.
Rodney Landrum demonstrates an ingenious way to monitor blocked SQL Server processes across all your servers, using nothing but SSRS.
This installment illustrates how to use PowerShell in conjunction with SMO to display object properties of all SQL Server Objects.
Longtime SQL Server author Raj Vasant brings us a technique for delivering databases along with an application. As more and more systems take advantage of SQL Server or Express, this is a technique that can come in very handy.
A look at some of the more interesting stories from a database perspective.
By Arun Sirpal
Transaction log issues are one of the quietest ways a healthy database turns into...
By Steve Jones
I wrote earlier this week about the SQL MCP Server using the Data API...
By Brian Kelley
Yesterday, July 27, 2026, Microsoft announced a new cybersecurity effort called Project Perception. Included...
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Comments posted to this topic are about the item The “Successful Login” Dilemma: Why...
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If I run this statement in SQL Server 2025, how is the password encrypted?
CREATE SYMMETRIC KEY MySymmetricKey WITH ALGORITHM = AES_256, KEY_SOURCE = 'My secret key source passphrase', IDENTITY_VALUE = 'My secret identity value' ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = 'S&perS#cretP@ssword7'; GOSee possible answers