Checking Up on Vendors
Being able to audit the actions others take on your systems is important to Steve, especially when working in the cloud.
Understanding CRUD Operations on Tables with B-tree Indexes, Page-splits, and Fragmentation
Introduction Every DML transaction reads the data before it makes any changes. Not only during a SELECT query, but when you run any DML statement, insert, update, or delete, SQL Server first fetches a bunch of pages into the buffer pool locating the desired rows and changes them while synchronously writing to the transaction log […]
Running Dynamic Code Quality Checks on Flyway Databases: Table Smells
How to extend the range of SQL code analysis, during database development, to include dynamic analysis of the database metadata. This will allow regular checks for problems with the design of your tables and indexes ("table smells") that can affect database performance and data integrity.
SQL Server Sequence Numbers
In this tip we look at the Sequence Number feature in SQL Server and compare it to the use of identity columns.
Non-Stop Learning
There was a recent discussion in the forums here at SQL Server Central regarding the difficulties presented by the constantly shifting technology landscape. The core question was, how on earth do you master stuff? Especially, how do you master things when they're both new and constantly changing? Honestly, you don't. I mean, you can, but […]
Getting Started Remotely
Today Steve wonders what advice you might give someone starting out their career in technology.
Optimize Your SQL by Reformulating the Spec
As SQL developers, we tend to think of performance tuning in terms of crafting the best table indices, avoiding scalar and table valued functions, and analyzing query plans (among other things). But sometimes going back to the spec and applying some properties of elementary math can be the best way to begin to improve performance of SQL queries which implement mathematical formulas. This article is a case study of how I used this technique to optimize my SQL implementation of the Inverse Simpson Index.
DevOps as a bludgeon
With both personal experience and the real world evidence to back it up, Grant Fritchey says, unequivocally, a well-implemented DevOps process helps the organization. But it's not always easy to bridge a siloed organization, and sometimes organizations adopt DevOps for the wrong reasons.
Getting Started with MLflow in Azure Databricks
In this article we cover how to get started with MLflow using Azure Databricks which manages the end-to-end machine learning lifecycle.
Cloud Database Growth
The use of cloud databases is growing, and Azure SQL Database is one of the more popular ones.
Blogs
A New Word: on tenderhooks
By Steve Jones
on tenderhooks – adj. feeling the primal satisfaction of being needed by someone, which...
Ramblings about data communities and your contributions, no excuses
By DataOnWheels
I have been active in the data community throughout my career. I have met...
SQL Server Journey till 2025 (brief)
By Vinay Thakur
Quick Summary for Microsoft SQL Server till 2025, I am fortunate to be part...
Forums
how do i map the "current" object entry in for each to one variable
hi, in an ssis for each loop over an object variable called MyListVariable, i...
Simulating Mercury’s Orbital Motion Using Pure T-SQL (NASA 2025 Dataset)
SQL Server is typically viewed as a transactional or analytical database engine. However, it...
Azure SQL Database | CREATE EVENT SESSION [Blocking_Capture] ON DATABASE
Hello, Is there a way in Azure SQL Database to change the 'Blocking Process...
Question of the Day
String Similarity I
On SQL Server 2025, when I run this, what is returned?
SELECT EDIT_DISTANCE_SIMILARITY('SQL Server', 'MySQL') See possible answers