The old system function IsNumeric() often causes exasperation to a developer who is unfamiliar with the quirks of Transact SQL. It seems to think a comma or a number with a 'D' in the midde of it is a number. Phil Factor explains that though IsNumeric has its bugs, it real vice is that it doesn't tell you which of the numeric datatypes the string parameter can be coerced into, and because it doesn't check for overflow. Phil comes to the rescue with a couple of useful alternatives, one of which works whatever version of SQL Server you have, and which tell you what datatype the string can be converted to.

Analysing Sales Patterns: R + SQL Server

by Nick Burns

SQLServerCentral.com

RevolutionR

We show how to use RevolutionR to analyse & visualise purchasing behaviours in AdventureWorksDW2012.

Failed Projects

by Steve Jones

SQLServerCentral.com

Editorial

This week's poll asks about your failures in software.

Is a Temporary Table Really Necessary?

by Randy Dyess

SQLServerCentral.com

Performance Tuning

In this article Randy Dyness shows you how to avoid temp tables whenever to maximize the performance of your queries.

Reporting Services Makes Server Support Easier

by Carolyn Richardson

SQLServerCentral.com

Administration

Reporting Services is one of the most widely used subsystems in SQL Server and there have been some very creative solutions invented by DBAs around the world. New author Carolyn Richardson is one of those, bringing us a implementation that tracks uptime and disk space for her SQL Servers

Understanding the difference between IS NULL and = NULL

by James Travis

SQLServerCentral.com

T-SQL

This article by James Travis details the differences between IS NULL and = NULL. He also discusses the ANSI_NULLS setting.

Database Code Analysis

by Additional Articles

SimpleTalk

Code Analysis

Database code analysis will reduce the number of 'code smells' that creep into your database builds. It will alert the team to mistakes or omissions, such as missing indexes, that are likely to cause performance problems in production. It will allow the Governance and Operations team visibility into production readiness of the code, warning them of security loopholes and vulnerabilities. William Brewer describes the two technical approaches to database code analysis, static and dynamic, and suggests some tools that can help you get started.

Opinions and Votes

by Steve Jones

SQLServerCentral.com

Editorial

When we look to improve software, we are often expressing our opinion on which items need to be handled first. It's helpful to keep in mind that it's an opinion being expressed, and not a vote, no matter how much it is solicited by a company.

How to Read a Transaction Log Backup

by Additional Articles

Database Journal

Transaction Log

The transaction log backup is stored in SQL Server proprietary format, just like the transaction log itself. Even though the transaction log backup is in a special format, Microsoft has provided us with the fn_dump_dblog() function to read transaction log backups. This function is undocumented, so you should use care when using this function in a production environment.