Building a Real-Time Analytics Pipeline with Azure Stream Analytics and SQL Server
Learn how a real time analytics solution for ETL and reporting can be built with SQL Server, Power BI, and Stream Analytics.
Deep Learning and Craftsmanship Matter
GenAI technology is going to change coding, but there is still a lot of work available for humans.
How to Create a SQL Server Linked Server to Oracle 26ai Free
Easily move data from SQL Server to Oracle 26ai Free with this step-by-step guide.
Chopping Off Data
An ETL issue with Excel causes issues, because the users didn't realize a limitation.
T-SQL in SQL Server 2025: Fuzzy String Search II
In the last article, we examined fuzzy string matching in SQL Server 2025 with a few new functions. We know comparing strings has always been hard when we don't have great data quality. If we need exact matches, SQL Server works great. However, we often expect users to enter values without typos and know what […]
Sending messages to Slack from SQL Server 2025
In an earlier tip, A history of accessing REST APIs and web pages from SQL Server, I talked about reaching out to external endpoints from SQL Server, including the new sys.sp_invoke_external_rest_endpoint procedure that hit the on-premises editions in SQL Server 2025. This seemed like an ideal use case to enhance our current solution for sending a message to Slack: using xp_cmdshell to call a PowerShell script that calls Invoke-RestMethod. In this tip, I’ll describe how we changed our implementation and why it is a marked improvement for us.
Python in Action to Auto-Generate an Optimized PostgreSQL Index Strategy
We have a script that can be used to help tune ind...
How to View SQL Server Object Code Easily with sp_showcode
sp_helptext has served SQL Server DBAs for years, but it has its very obvious – and many – limitations: broken lines, missing triggers, no help with encrypted objects, to name just a few. That’s where sp_showcode comes in…
Representative Data Challenges
We need data that represents the problem we want to solve, or we might not achieve our aims.
Blogs
Match the Model to the Task, Not the App: An Orchestrator-Worker Pattern in Python
Most apps that call an LLM send every request to the same model. That...
Advice I Like: Responsibility
By Steve Jones
“The foundation of maturity: Just because it’s not your fault doesn’t mean it’s not...
Power BI Performance in 2026: A Practical Guide to Faster Semantic Models and Reports
By James Serra
Originally published April 2022; substantially updated July 2026. This post is a complete replacement...
Forums
Migration Challenge: Excessive FULLSCAN Statistics Update Duration Blocking SQL
Hello everyone , I am planning to migrate a database from SQL Server 2014...
SQL Agent Job Automated Change Capture Process
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Agent Job Automated Change...
Another Model, More Data Loss
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Another Model, More Data Loss
Question of the Day
Finding a Database Master Key
Where do I check for the existence of a Database Master Key (DMK) in SQL Server 2025?
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