Internal Staff Growth
How do you approach adding to your team? Steve asks if you look internally or externally as a default.
JSON_CONTAINS Function in SQL Server 2025
I have data coming into my SQL Server database as JSON. Before I start parsing it which is quite intensive, I need to check if some values are present in the JSON. Is there a function I can use to do this? Let’s see what the new JSON_CONTAINS function in SQL Server 2025 can do.
Do You Really Need HA?
Steve asks the question about whether or not a particular environment really needs HA implemented.
MySQL’s BLACKHOLE Storage Engine: The Odd Feature I Wish SQL Server Shipped With
Learn about a MySQL feature that could be useful in some scenarios for SQL Server.
Unlocking the Power of FULL OUTER JOIN in SQL: Performance, Use Cases & Examples
Discover how the FULL OUTER JOIN in SQL can simplify queries, improve performance, and solve real-world data problems
Economics of AI: What is the Real Cost to Profit?
Artificial intelligence is everywhere: It’s in our tools, our workflows, our marketing pitches…and increasingly, in our bottom lines. But a thought-provoking article published recently on the AI bubble asks a far more sobering question: What’s it really going to cost to profit from AI? Many people will roll their eyes and say, “Isn’t that obvious? […]
Poor Name Choice
Steve has a few thoughts on the names we choose for tables, columns, files, and more.
T-SQL in SQL Server 2025: Substring Changes
This article takes a look at the changes in SQL Server 2025 to the SUBSTRING function.
SQL Server CROSS APPLY and OUTER APPLY Helpful Examples
Microsoft introduced the APPLY operator in SQL Server 2005. Similar to a JOIN, it allows correlation between two table expressions. The key difference between the JOIN and APPLY operators is when you have a table-valued expression on the right side and want to evaluate it for each row from the left table expression. Since they produce similar results, when do you choose an APPLY versus a JOIN?
Create and Read the Analysis Services Flight Recorder
This article explains how to customize an extended events session in SQL Server Analysis Services for auditing and monitoring
Blogs
AI: Blog a Day – Day 7: Vector and Vector Databases
By Vinay Thakur
Continuing from Day 6 we learned Embeddings, Semantic Search and Checks, on Day 7...
AI: Blog a Day – Day 6: Embeddings – How AI Understands
By Vinay Thakur
Continuing from Day 5 where we covered notebooks, HuggingFace and fine tuning AI now...
The Book of Redgate: Mistakes
By Steve Jones
This is kind of a funny page to look at. The next page has...
Forums
Why End-User Testing Is Even More Important with AI
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Why End-User Testing Is Even...
Dynamic Unpivot
I have a table I didn't design that has tons of repeating groups in...
Writing as an Art and a Job
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Writing as an Art and...
Question of the Day
String Similarity II
What is the range for the result from the EDIT_DISTANCE_SIMILARITY() function in SQL Server 2025?
See possible answers