Representative Data Challenges
We need data that represents the problem we want to solve, or we might not achieve our aims.
SQL Server 2025 Standard Developer Edition
Learn about the new Standard Developer Edition of SQL Server 2025.
Find Missing SQL Server Data with NOT EXISTS
After years of writing T-SQL a certain way, changing can be tough. When comparing tables for missing rows, developers often use LEFT JOIN.
No Defaults Passwords Ever
Steve doesn't see a reason why we should have default passwords on systems ever.
Eight Minutes
When I was at the Small Data 2025 conference, one of the speakers was talking about their work with AI technologies. This person uses it a lot in their day job, often to complete tasks that they would have struggled to work on in the past, mostly because of time constraints, but also a lack […]
SQL Server Privilege Escalation via Replication Jobs
Learn how attackers can exploit SQL Server replication cleanup jobs to escalate privileges from db_owner to sysadmin
Faster Data Engineering with Python Notebooks: The Fabric Modern Data Platform
In this next article on the Fabric Modern Data Platform, we use the Polars library in Python to improve our data engineering.
JSON Has a Cost
JSON has become a very popular data format used in many software applications. However, it's not magic.
Power BI – Download, Install and Create Your First Report
Power BI Desktop is Microsoft’s platform for analytics and visualization. The product has been around for over ten years, making it a mature feature-rich choice for business intelligence reporting and actionable insights. How do you get started downloading, installing, and configuring Power BI desktop?
An SSIS Upgrade
SSIS is still in use by many customers. Steve discusses a few changes to SSIS in SQL Server 2025.
Blogs
No Shortcuts for the SQLCMD Batch Terminator: #SQLNewBlogger
By Steve Jones
I was messing around with SQLCMD and I realized something I hadn’t known. I’ve...
Where Is My SQL Agent? Running Scheduled Jobs Against Azure SQL Database
By gbargsley
One of the first things I review when I inherit a new SQL Server...
AgentDBA vs Critical SQL Server
By Arun Sirpal
It’s 07:43. Someone’s already left a message. “Something’s wrong with the DB server.” You...
Forums
Increment a number in a SQL Query based on a value
I have an issue where I have a Bill of Material list of items...
Follow Your Hunch
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Follow Your Hunch
What Happens When You Ask a Local AI to Query Your Database?
Comments posted to this topic are about the item What Happens When You Ask...
Question of the Day
Detecting Characters
I have a SQL Server 2022 English default installation on a server. I want to detect if there are any upper case characters in rows and I have this code:
SELECT CustomerNameID,
CustomerName
FROM dbo.CustomerName
WHERE CustomerName = LOWER(CustomerName)
Here is the sample data I am testing with:
CustomerNameID CustomerName 1 John Smith 2 Sarah Johnson 3 MICHAEL WILLIAMS 4 JENNIFER BROWN 5 david jones 6 emily davis 7 Robert Miller 8 LISA WILSON 9 christopher moore 10 Amanda TaylorHow many rows are returned? See possible answers