Replace Model SQL Server Database with a User Database
In this tip we look at what happens if we replace the SQL Server model database with a regular user database
A Problem with Cowboy Coding
Cowboy coding can be a problem, and in a case Steve talks about, a temptation for someone to get more work.
A tale of updating a legacy system bug
Even simple changes that don't look like they will affect anything often do.
Great Writers Get Hired
Steve thinks one of the ways you can stand out with your resume or CV is by writing well and attracting the attention of hiring managers.
Verify your SQL Server database backups
Introduction A popular joke about DBAs and database backups goes like this. There are two types of DBAs: DBAs that do backups DBAs that will do backups The joke is only stating the obvious – lack of database backups might be the end of a DBA career and/or the supported business. Unfortunately, that joke fails […]
SQL Server Security Best Practices for an Application Installed on SQL Server
In this article we look at the steps you can follow to create a secure and locked down instance of SQL Server to only be used by the intended application on the same machine.
Quick Security Mistakes
Steve reminds you to be careful of taking shortcuts, as these can compromise security. Automation and DevOps might help you avoid mistakes.
Setting up Management Studio for remote SQL Server
Learn how to configure SQL Server and Windows to allow others to connect to an instance remotely.
ASP.NET Core with GitOps: Orchestrating Your Containers with Kubernetes
Kubernetes can be used to deploy, scale, and manage containers. In this article, Mircea Oprea builds on the previous example in the series to show you how deploy your contains in the Elastic Kubernetes Service in AWS.
Blogs
Presenting with Visual Studio Code
A while back I wrote a quick post on setting up key mappings in...
Advice I Like: In 100 Years
By Steve Jones
In 100 years a lot of what we take to be true now will...
dataMinds Saturday 2026 – Slides
At Saturday the 21st of February I’m presenting an introduction to dimensional modelling at...
Forums
AllocationType as ROW_OVERFLOW_DATA
Hello, I inherited a number of tables with like 20-30 column using nvarchar(256) in...
is it true we cant debug c# scripts in ssis anymore under vs
Hi, i'm running vs2022. I'm trying out a c# script that i'd like to...
Question of the Day
Missing the Jaro Winkler Distance
I upgraded a SQL Server 2019 instance to SQL Server 2025. I wanted to test the fuzzy string search functions. I run this code:
SELECT JARO_WINKLER_DISTANCE('tim', 'tom')
I get this error message:Msg 195, Level 15, State 10, Line 1 'JARO_WINKLER_DISTANCE' is not a recognized built-in function name.What is wrong? See possible answers