Azure Data Lake Analytics using U-SQL Queries
This article will help with gaining confidence and familiarity with Microsoft Azure's Data Lake Analytics offering to process large datasets quickly while demonstrating the potential and capabilities of U-SQL to aggregate and process big data files.
How Perfect Should Our Software Be?
Steve talks about the level of engineering effort we need in software development.
Learning about DML Triggers
Triggers can be confusing and complex for many developers new to SQL. Steve Jones gives a few ideas for learning more about this construct as well as practicing writing them.
GDPR - A guide for the perplexed
If a picture paints a thousand words then can GDPR regulation be represented in diagram form? Could doing so make it easier to comply with the regulation by making it easier to understand?
We Want Maturity, But Is It Fun?
Today we have a guest editorial from Andy Warren as Steve is away on vacation. This was originally published on Dec 23, 2014. I was reflecting recently on my first real IT job. It was a small-ish company when I joined it, perhaps a hundred employees or so, and still using a mishmash of software […]
You Need Offline Backups
Steve talks about the need to be careful with backups in this age of malicious attackers.
Using the DAX Calculate and Values Functions
In the first two articles in this series on creating DAX formulae, Andy Brown of Wise Owl Training showed how to create calculated columns and measures. In this third article, he turns his attention to two of the most important DAX functions (CALCULATE and VALUES), showing how and when to use them. If DAX knowledge can be compared to a heavily fortified castle, the CALCULATE function is the drawbridge giving access to it.
Blogs
A Spread of Vacation
By Steve Jones
I’m off on vacation today. Which is a little weird as I just got...
How AgentDBA Identifies Backup Failures
By Arun Sirpal
Every DBA has a box like this. Sitting untouched for months. Nobody’s proud of...
Tip: Expanding a SQL statement
In all recent versions of the database you can call DBMS_UTILITY.EXPAND_SQL_TEXT to get the...
Forums
From SQL Server On-Premises to Claude Desktop: How I built a Full MCP Pipeline
Comments posted to this topic are about the item From SQL Server On-Premises to...
Independence Day 2026
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Independence Day 2026
Independence Day 2026
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Independence Day 2026
Question of the Day
Independence Day 2026
In the original Independence Day movie (1996), what type of computer did Jeff Goldblum use to connect to the alien mainframe? Take a guess, don't look it up or ask AI.
See possible answers