Common SQL Server Problems: Invalid Object Name
Learn why SQL Server shows ‘Invalid object name’ errors and how to fix them.
T-SQL in SQL Server 2025: Encoding Functions
Learn about these new binary encoding and decoding functions in SQL Server 2025.
Where Your Value Separates You from Others
Many of us aspire to be senior level professionals at some point in our careers, but what separates us from others? Steve has a few thoughts today.
Generating Shape Bound Random Points in SQL Server
Random number generation is vital in computer science, supporting fields like optimization, simulation, robotics, and gaming. The quality, speed, and sometimes security of the generator can directly affect an algorithm’s correctness, performance, and competitiveness. In Python, random number generation is well-supported and widely used. In this article, we will look how to we can use SQL to do this.
Using Python notebooks to save money in Fabric: The Fabric Modern Data Platform
In this next article, we look at how notebooks using Python can be cheaper than Spark notebooks.
Let’s Build a Better KILL. What Do We Need to Consider?
When there’s a performance emergency, a lot of us perform the same manual tasks over and over. We run sp_BlitzWho or sp_WhoIsActive, look for blocking, long-running or out-of-control queries, and kill them.
Loading a Database for USD$5
See how Claude Code helped load a lot of messy data into a database for less than $5.
Minimally Viable Security
Today Steve talks about the need for a basic level of security in our software.
Optimize SQL Server Query without Changing the Query
Sometimes we cannot improve query performance because we don’t have control over the code. Consider a query that is generated by Entity Framework (EF) from the application and you do not have access to the source code. The main question is how you can improve SQL Server query optimization for a poorly performing query?
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?
See possible answers