Tracking Table Sizes
Today Steve asks if you track the details of your table growth inside a database.
Exploring Scalar Solutions to Complex Data Math
There are many functions and tools available to database professionals that can solve data math challenges, regardless of complexity.
An Effective Approach for High Volume Data in Azure Synapse
Learn about how you can efficiently load data in Azure Synapse.
The Job Outlook for Database Professionals
The job outlook for database professionals is good, but it's not that easy to get a great job. Steve has some advice for you today.
The Power of Generate_series
SQL 2022 introduced the function generate_series which permits us to solve problems for which we previously had to use a table of numbers (also known as a "tally table"). generate_series is a great addition, because when using a table of numbers there was always a risk that you could run out of numbers. Or some joker could have deleted rows from the table. All these worries are gone with generate_series.
Determining Whether Home Addresses Fall Within a Tornado Polygon Using Spatial Functions
Geographic information systems (GIS) play a critical role in emergency response planning and risk assessment. One of the key challenges in this field is determining whether a specific location falls within an area of interest. This capability is especially valuable for property and casualty (P&C) insurers, who need to assess their insured property exposure when severe weather events such as tornadoes occur.
A Poor Data Model
Steve has a few thoughts on natural keys, which often turn out not to be as unique as we expect.
Improve Query Performance when SQL Server Ignores Nonclustered Index
Do you wonder why SQL Server ignores an index? Do you think about how you can deal with this problem? When you include too many columns in a query you decrease index selectivity. So, if you write a query like “Select * From …” the chance of choosing your nonclustered index will decrease.
What is time?
There was a post on X I read today about valuing your time. The gist was that since this person had waited 9 minutes to save $4, they valued their time at $27 an hour. I get the point being made. Time is valuable and you need to set the value of your time. It […]
Your Biggest Data Model Complaints
Today Steve asks which data model issues are most annoying to you.
Blogs
AI: Blog a Day – Day 5: Notebooks, Hugging face models and Fine Tuning
By Vinay Thakur
Continuing from Day 4 where we learned Encoder, Decoder, and Attention Mechanism, today we...
AI: Blog a Day – Day 4: Transformers – Encoder, Decoder, and Attention
By Vinay Thakur
Continuing from Day 3 where we covered LLM models open/closed and their parameters, Today...
Flyway Tips: Multiple Projects
By Steve Jones
One of the nice things about Flyway Desktop is that it helps you manage...
Forums
Writing as an Art and a Job
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Writing as an Art and...
String Similarity II
Comments posted to this topic are about the item String Similarity II
Supervised versus Unsupervised Training of an Artificial Neural Network
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Supervised versus Unsupervised Training of...
Question of the Day
String Similarity II
What is the range for the result from the EDIT_DISTANCE_SIMILARITY() function in SQL Server 2025?
See possible answers