SQL ConstantCare® Population Report: Fall 2025
In this quarter’s update of our SQL ConstantCare® population report, showing how quickly (or slowly) folks adopt new versions of SQL Server, the data is very similar to last quarter
Being Mindful of Design Time
Do you take the time to model and design your database? Steve thinks this is important, even while trying to make changes quicker to adapt to changing requirements.
T-SQL in SQL Server 2025: Concatenating Strings
Like many of you, I have often put strings together (concatenation) with a simple arithmetical operator: +. We have a few other ways to put strings together, but in SQL Server 2025, we have a new operator that allows us to put strings together. This is the double pipe (||) operator. This article looks at […]
IoT Meets OLTP: How to Handle Backfilling Challenges in Real-Time Systems
This is the true story of a 64-core SQL Server brought down by poor assumptions about its data. A clustered index designed for neat, sequential IoT inserts was overwhelmed when the real readings arrived late, out of order, and in bulk. The same risk lurks in any high-write system with unpredictable insert patterns. This article shows what can go wrong and how to avoid it.
Implementing PostgreSQL with Python for Real-Time Logging and Monitoring
Learn how you can create a logging module in Python that can be used to insert real-time records in a PostgreSQL database and display them on a dashboard.
Internal Staff Growth
How do you approach adding to your team? Steve asks if you look internally or externally as a default.
JSON_CONTAINS Function in SQL Server 2025
I have data coming into my SQL Server database as JSON. Before I start parsing it which is quite intensive, I need to check if some values are present in the JSON. Is there a function I can use to do this? Let’s see what the new JSON_CONTAINS function in SQL Server 2025 can do.
Do You Really Need HA?
Steve asks the question about whether or not a particular environment really needs HA implemented.
Blogs
Microsoft Build 2026 announcements
By James Serra
Once again there were a number of Microsoft Build announcements related to data and...
T-SQL Tuesday #199: Roundup
A good week ago I hosted the monthly T-SQL Tuesday blog party. I invited...
No Shortcuts for the SQLCMD Batch Terminator: #SQLNewBlogger
By Steve Jones
I was messing around with SQLCMD and I realized something I hadn’t known. I’ve...
Forums
Increment a number in a SQL Query based on a value
I have an issue where I have a Bill of Material list of items...
Follow Your Hunch
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Follow Your Hunch
What Happens When You Ask a Local AI to Query Your Database?
Comments posted to this topic are about the item What Happens When You Ask...
Question of the Day
Detecting Characters
I have a SQL Server 2022 English default installation on a server. I want to detect if there are any upper case characters in rows and I have this code:
SELECT CustomerNameID,
CustomerName
FROM dbo.CustomerName
WHERE CustomerName = LOWER(CustomerName)
Here is the sample data I am testing with:
CustomerNameID CustomerName 1 John Smith 2 Sarah Johnson 3 MICHAEL WILLIAMS 4 JENNIFER BROWN 5 david jones 6 emily davis 7 Robert Miller 8 LISA WILSON 9 christopher moore 10 Amanda TaylorHow many rows are returned? See possible answers