Azure AD Authentication for Azure SQL Databases
In this article we walk through how to connect to Azure SQL Database using Azure Active Directory authentication along with multi-factor authentication.
Documenting a SQL Server Data Catalog in HTML and Git Markdown
Dave Poole explains the need for high quality database documentation and then demonstrates how to document the SQL Server database for a data catalog, in both HTML and Git Markdown, using SQL Doc, SQL Data Catalog, PowerShell, and a few helper scripts to ensure consistency and correctness.
Getting a Query Execution Plan in PostgreSQL
Introduction You often need to check the performance of a PostgreSQL query you just wrote to look for some way to improve performance. In order to do this, you need a report of the query execution, which is called the execution plan). The query execution plan gives you the entire summary of the query execution […]
My Time is Valuable
Spending time on low value tasks isn't often worth the cost for highly paid employees.
A data transformation problem in SQL and Scala: Dovetailing declarative solutions
This article is an interesting approach to solving a data transformation problem in SQL and Scala. Shel Burkow uses a SQL execution plan for software design.
Every IT Organization is a Snowflake
Some people think every IT department is unique. While that might be literally true, Steve doesn't think that is actually the case.
Stairway to SQL Server Security Level 2: Authentication
Authentication is the first step in letting a principal get access to an instance of SQL Server, essentially resolving the question, Who are you? In this stairway level you’ll learn about the basics of authentication and the authentication options available. This level covers logins and users and you’ll learn about the password policies that can help strengthen SQL Server authentication.
Encrypt and Decrypt Passwords in SQL Server with PowerShell
In this article we look at how to securely store data in text files that could be used for SQL Server authentication or wherever you need to keep data secure.
Unlocking the “PASS Pro” Educational series
Thanks to the consent of the speakers, the expert-led educational training courses covering the following four topics: Data Modernization, Azure Migration, Azure Synapse, Azure SQL, are now available to all. You can watch the sessions and learn from a range of experts online, for free.
Take Care of People
The transformation of a way of working is hard, but it's important to realize this is more than just technology. This also includes people.
Blogs
Automatic Index Compaction
By ReviewMyDB
Index maintenance has always meant nightly jobs and a window you have to defend....
The Goldilocks problem – Materialized Views
I’m sure you’ve all heard the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but...
Monday Monitor Tips: Virtual Machine Usage and Cost
By Steve Jones
One of the things I’ve been requesting for a number of years is cost...
Forums
SQL Art, Part 4: Happy 4th of July — A British DBA's Guide to Celebrating a War We Don't Talk About
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Art, Part 4: Happy...
How We Handled a Vendor Retry That Loaded Twice in Snowflake
Comments posted to this topic are about the item How We Handled a Vendor...
Cognitive Coverage
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Cognitive Coverage
Question of the Day
Getting the Average
I have this data in the dbo.Commission table in a SQL Server 2022 database.
salesperson commission Brian 12 Brian 16 Andy 7 Andy 14 Andy 21 Steve 20 Steve NULLAll the data is a varchar, and I decide to run this query to get the totals for each salesperson.
SELECT SalesPerson
, AVG(TRY_PARSE(Commission AS int)) AS TotalCommission
FROM commission
GROUP BY SalesPerson
GO
What average commission is calculated for Steve? See possible answers