DevOps anti-patterns: what they are and how to avoid them
In software development, DevOps promises faster delivery, increased collaboration, and more reliable deployments. However, many teams unknowingly fall into anti-patterns.
Barely Reviewed Code
Code reviews can be challenging in many places, and with AI, could be even more of an issue in the future.
Data Modeling with dbt for Visual Code: The Fabric Modern Data Platform
Learn more about dbt in this next article on Data Engineering in Fabric.
Why use a Composite Index in SQL Server
SQL queries can take a long time to run, especially on large tables if not properly indexed. Full table scans can be costly operations when all a user wants is to fetch a few rows based on multiple columns and a WHERE filter. How can we properly index our tables to support multi-column queries?
The Problem Isn't Always Your Query or Schema... Sometimes It's Hidden Assumptions
Sometimes the problems aren't your code. Here a few places where re-examining your assumptions can help improve software development.
How to determine the last value used by a sequence in SQL Server
I’ve been a fan of sequences ever since they were added in SQL Server 2012. Prior to that, developers had a choice of IDENTITY columns or a roll-your-own table mechanism.
This Week's AI Trust Problem Became Everyone’s Problem
There’s a saying in security circles: the weakest link isn’t the lock on the front door but the spare key under the mat. This past week gave us two vivid, simultaneous demonstrations of that principle, and if you’re building anything in the AI space right now, both deserve your full attention. The Mythos Leak and […]
A Double Failure
A company has both a server without a password and live data in test environments. Not a good situation.
Blogs
T-SQL Tuesday #203: Risk and Reward
By Steve Jones
This is timely, as I’m currently on a boat in the Adriatic taking a...
dataMinds Connect 2026 – Slides & Scripts
You can find the slides and SQL scripts for my session “Spice up your...
How to Clear the SSMS Cache (SSMS 21 and Later)
By SQLPals
How to Clear the SSMS Cache (SSMS 21 and Later) Updated...
Forums
Using CHOOSE()
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Using CHOOSE()
Re-Seeding a Broken Log Shipping Secondary (Without Touching the Primary)
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Re-Seeding a Broken Log Shipping...
The DBA is Dead! Long Live the !
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The DBA is Dead! Long...
Question of the Day
Using CHOOSE()
We have this code that sets some status values and then queries them using the CHOOSE() function in SQL Server 2025.
CREATE TABLE Status
(
StatusID INT,
StatusDescription VARCHAR(20)
);
GO
INSERT dbo.Status
(
StatusID,
StatusDescription
)
VALUES
(0, 'Uncategorized'),
(1, 'Active'),
(2, 'Inactive'),
(3, 'Temp');
GO
SELECT CHOOSE(StatusID, 'Unknown', 'Active', 'Inactive', 'Temporary')
FROM Status;
When the SELECT runs, what is returned? See possible answers