Do You Have ALL the YAML?
There are lots of data exchange formats, and one of them that has become popular is YAML. However, are you sure you have the entire file?
Why Power Query as an Activity in Azure Data Factory and SSIS?
There is a Power Query activity in SSIS and Azure Data Factory, which can be more useful than other tasks in some situations.
How to Compare Two SQL Prompt Styles
A PowerShell function that will compare two SQL formatting styles, saved in JSON, and produce a report showing the differences between the options they use to lay out your SQL code.
Much Ado about nothing: missing data
Joe Celko explains how missing data is handled from the printing press to databases.
Define All The Steps Up Front
After 23 years in one place, I'm pulling up stakes and moving. We're selling our house in one state in the US and we're buying a house in another state about half a continent away. To say it's a stressful and exhausting process is an understatement. The worst part is that no one has defined […]
How Often Do You Patch?
Patching is a chore that any system administrator needs to deal with. As SQL Server 2016 moves out of mainstream support, Steve asks if you have a plan and how often you ensure systems are patched.
Upsert Operation in Cosmos DB using Azure Data Factory
This article covers the basics of upserting data in CosmosDB using Azure Data Factory.
Managing SQL Server transaction log size
The SQL Server transaction log must be managed to keep a database running and performing well. In this article, Greg Larsen explains how to manage the transaction log size.
Peering into and Parsing Application Log Files
How to use PowerShell cmdlets, such as Select-String, to glance at the contents of the application logs, or use them in conjunction with Regular Expressions to sift through log files in detail looking for particular types of error.
Powershell Day by Day: Customizing Scripts with Parameters
Learn how you can add parameters to your PowerShell scripts to make them more flexible and useful.
Blogs
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But as I've matured over the years, I came to realize that I needed...
Presenting Twice in May 2026
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I saw a question asking about the next sequence value and decided to try...
Forums
Auto Update Statistics not triggering on filtered indexes
I've got a table with 186,703,969 rows, about 300GB of data. There are several...
What is the difference between SQL Server and SQL Database?
I created a SQL Database in Azure Portal but I've just noticed it also...
An Unusual Identity
Comments posted to this topic are about the item An Unusual Identity
Question of the Day
An Unusual Identity
What values are returned when I run this code?
CREATE TABLE dbo.IdentityTest2
(
id NUMERIC(10,0) IDENTITY(10,10) PRIMARY KEY,
somevalue VARCHAR(20)
)
GO
INSERT dbo.IdentityTest2
(
somevalue
)
VALUES
( 'Steve')
, ('Bill')
GO
SELECT top 10
id
FROM dbo.IdentityTest2 See possible answers