Upload multiple XML files to an XML data type column
Learn how to upload multiple XML files to an SQL Server 2005 database XML data type column.
Best Practices for Date/Time Calculations in SQL Server
You can use arithmetic operators in date/time calculations in SQL Server, but sometimes the date/time functions provided by Microsoft are the better option. Follow a few scenarios that demonstrate when arithmetic operators are safe and when they are risky.
Gathering RSS Feeds using Visual Studio and RSS.NET
If you would like to learn how to build and customize your very own Windows service to retrieve posts from multiple RSS feeds, and then store those posts in a SQL Server database, let John Papa guide you through his tutorial.
Generating lift reports using Reporting Services - Part 1
This tip explores a DMX extension introduced in SQL Server 2005 SP2 that can be used to render lift reports directly in Reporting Services.
Career Book Reviews
Working in the corporate world can be a challenge and most of us muddle through our careers without really having any formal training. Andy Warren has spent time proactively working on his career and learned a great many tips and tricks for succeeeding as an employee and a manager. He brings us a few book reviews that might help you cope with the strange corporate world in which so many of us work.
Conditional Formatting in the Analysis Services Layer
Support conditional formatting for enterprise reports from the Analysis Services layer of the integrated Microsoft business intelligence solution.
Implementing Real-World Data Input Validation using Regular Expression
Francis Norton shows how to use regular expressions to fulfil some real world data validation requirements, demonstrating techniques ranging from simple number format checks, to complex string validation that requires use of regex's powerful "lookahead" feature.
SQLChess - A tutorial on thinking in sets
Chess makes a fantastic game for programming examples. You will find hundreds of examples on the internet. Some dedicated to OO patterns, others to algorithms and so forth. Unfortunately, most of these examples do not use a database or if they do, treat the database as nothing more than a storage repository. In this series of articles we will use SQL Server and T-SQL to implement the game of chess with an emphasis on thinking in sets.
SQL Server Grouping Workbench
Robyn Page and Phil Factor take on GROUP BY queries in SQL server, starting on the nursery slopes but finishing with a wild ride off-piste.
Blogs
Rolling Back a Broken Release
By Steve Jones
We had an interesting discussion about deployments in databases and how you go forward...
A bespoke reporting solution doesn’t have to cost the earth
By ChrisJenkins
You could be tolerating limited reporting because there isn’t an off the shelf solution...
Presenting with Visual Studio Code
A while back I wrote a quick post on setting up key mappings in...
Forums
Lots of FKs
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Lots of FKs
Real-time On-prem SQL Server Data in Excel – Over the Internet
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Real-time On-prem SQL Server Data...
Can You Let Go of Determinism
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Can You Let Go of...
Question of the Day
Lots of FKs
In SQL Server 2025, what are the most outgoing and incoming FK references a table can have?
See possible answers