Random Number Generator in SQL using Marsaglia Polar
How can we build a random number generator using Marsaglia Polar method in SQL Server without the use of external tools?
FinOps - the new name for performance tuning
This year I have been speaking with an increasing number of people about FinOps and what it means. Fundamentally, it is all about getting a handle on the cost for our technology spend. When we step back and look at the bigger picture it also has ramifications on corporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) programs […]
T-SQL in SQL Server 2025: The PRODUCT Function
Earlier this year at SQL Saturday Austin 2025, Conor Cunningham gave a keynote that discussed the engineering efforts in the Austin office around SQL Server. One of the things he mentioned was PRODUCT(), which was written there and added to SQL Server 2025 to help with the GDP calculation for the US government. Yep, that's […]
How to Query JSON Data Quickly in SQL Server, Part 1: Pre-2025
Before SQL Server 2025, if you want to store JSON data in Microsoft SQL Server or Azure SQL DB, and you want fast queries, the easiest way is to:
Done is Better than Good
Getting something done is important, but so is the quality level. Steve has a few thoughts today.
Identify Unused Tables in SQL Server and Azure SQL
This article presents a way to discover those tables that are unused over a period of time, along with suggestions on how to get rid of these tables.
SQL Declare Variable Code Examples
This tutorial will discuss using variables with SQL DECLARE along with various examples.
Filtered Indexes: The Developer’s Secret Weapon in SQL Server
Learn about filtered indexes in SQL Server, how they work, and how they can help improve performance.
Blogs
Using Prompt AI for a Travel Data Analysis
By Steve Jones
I was looking back at my year and decided to see if SQL Prompt...
FinOps for Kubernetes: Leveraging OpenCost, KubeGreen, and Kubecost for Cost Efficiency
In the era of cloud-native applications, Kubernetes has become the default standard platform for...
2025 Wrapped for Steve
By Steve Jones
I’ve often done some analysis of my year in different ways. Last year I...
Forums
The North Star for the Year
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The North Star for the...
Multiple Escape Characters
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Multiple Escape Characters
reaching ftp thru winscp but erroring in ssis ftp task connection
Hi, below i show various results trying to reach our ftp site (a globalscape...
Question of the Day
Multiple Escape Characters
In SQL Server 2025, I run this code (in a database with the appropriate collation):
SELECT UNISTR('%*3041%*308A%*304C%*3068 and good night', '%*') AS 'A Classic';
What is returned? See possible answers