How to Check SQL Server Version When Service is Not Running

• by Additional Articles

• MSSQLTips.com

• Management Studio (SSMS)
• SQL Server Configuration Manager

In this article we look at several ways to find the version of SQL Server that is installed when the SQL Server service is not running.

Data Element Names and Scoping Rules in SQL

• by Joe Celko

• SQLServerCentral

• Database Design and Implementation

How you name data elements in databases and applications programs has often been a matter of personal taste. Decades ago, when I worked for state government, there is a COBOL programmer who would pick a theme for his programs. The paragraphs and variables would be named based on the current theme. One of his programs […]

The Responsibility for Bugs

• by Steve Jones

• SQLServerCentral

• software development

Today Steve wonders who should be responsible for software bugs, something of which we have no shortage of in our industry.

Import Data from PDF to SQL Server

• by Additional Articles

• MSSQLTips.com

• R Language

In this article we look at how we can use R and SQL Server to import lottery numbers from a PDF document into a SQL Server table.

Masking Data in Practice

• by Additional Articles

• Redgate

• Vendors/3rd-party Products

Phil Factor takes a strategic look at common SQL data masking techniques, and the challenges inherent in masking certain types of sensitive and personal data, while ensuring that it still looks like the real data, and retains its referential integrity, and distribution characteristics.

Easy Data Access Plus Security

• by Grant Fritchey

• SQLServerCentral

• Database Weekly

As I type this, I've got my right leg propped up on a stool. That's because if I sit for any length of time with the knee bent, I have a great deal of pain on standing. Seems there's something horribly wrong with my knee. I still don't know what yet. I've had an MRI […]

How to Decipher @@Options

• by jonfrisbee

• SQLServerCentral

• @@OPTIONS
• SET Options

This article will show how you can read the @@OPTIONS variable and determine your settings.

Picking a Goal for 2021

• by Steve Jones

• SQLServerCentral

• Career Growth

If you have set any new goals for your career this year, Steve is asking you to let him know.

SQL Server Error Log

• by Additional Articles

• SimpleTalk

• SQL Server

The SQL Server error log is a great source of information for DBAs for monitoring errors and the operation of the server. In this article, Greg Larsen explains the details and how to configure the SQL Server error log.

The Joy of Realistic Generated Fake Database Data

• by Additional Articles

• Redgate

• Vendors/3rd-party Products

Have you ever had to demonstrate a database-driven application, and longed to have the real data to do so? To do what, precisely? Well, so you can then scroll through the customers who have used the system, demonstrate the accounting and audit, browse through the products, maybe even demo the customer tracking system with comments, complaints and so on. All this is possible, using realistic, fake data.