Bulk Data Load Using OLEDB Template Libraries
New Author! This is a fairly article that looks at how to do bulk data loading at a very (very) low level. You'll need to be able to read code to make use of this.
For SQL Server, XML Is One Answer
New author! Nick discusses why 'XML is One Answer', outlining some of what he believes are key points about using XML with SQL Server. This is a follow up (and sort of counter point) to another great article we had here on the site a couple weeks ago by Don Peterson. Good stuff!
An Interesting Article on Unicode and Character Sets
This may well be more than you want to know about Unicode (and no, it's not a SQL article), but it's a pretty useful discussion to have.
Documenting Stored Procedures
Regular columnist Robert Marda discusses a few ideas on stored procedure documentation. How much documentation do you need and is "documentation" different than code comments?
Mapping Database File Objects and Fragmentation
Chris proposes a tool that would allow you to graphically see the space utilized by objects in a SQL database. Good idea?
When Do You Pull Your Hair Out?
Another adventure in the real world. Steve Jones tracks down a problem with locks on a live system. Read along and see how he works through the issues.
Terminal Services - A Couple Tips
We agree with Andy that Terminal Services is definitely a tool to have in the DBA toolbox. Like most tools, everyone uses them differently. Andy starts the discussion with some comments on how he uses TS - what about you? Do you use TS at all? Use it differently than Andy does? Prefer a different solution? Read the article and post a comment.
Review of SQLDiff by Lockwood
Chris was kind enough to take some time to put this product through it's paces and ends up giving it a very good rating. Read the article to see a nice graphical walkthrough of how to use the product.
Fixed Database Roles
This article covers four of the fixed database roles (db_datareader, db_datawriter, db_denydatareader, and db_denydatawriter). If you're new to SQL security (and maybe even if you're not) this article is worth reading.
Cluster That Index - Part 2
Chris does a follow up to his very popular article on clustered indexes. They seem simple, but in practice they are fairly complicated. Having a solid understanding of clustered indexes will definitely help you get the results you need.
Blogs
T-SQL Tuesday #197 – An impactful session or two from a conference – RECAP
By DataOnWheels
Thanks to everyone who joined the blog party this month. I noticed three themes...
OpenClaw- Agentic Engineering
By Vinay Thakur
This week has training on AI – Cyber security experts – Omar Santos and...
Visualising Vectors in High Dimensional Space
Following on from my previous post on building The Burrito Bot, I want to...
Forums
What's new in R 4.6
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Interesting Changes in R
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Interesting Changes in R, which...
PostgreSQL String Functions Part 1
Comments posted to this topic are about the item PostgreSQL String Functions Part 1
Question of the Day
Identities and Sequences V
When thinking about the identity property and sequence objects, which of these can generate values before an insert statement is executed?
See possible answers