The struggle to renormalize data
You are given an export of a NoSQL database, in JSON, and asked to import it into a relational database. Sounds easy? It isn't and Phil Factor explain why.
What Mail Items Have Been Sent With Database Mail
Have you ever wondered how much database mail you have sent in the past day or week? What about those database mail items that were not successfully sent. In this tip, Greg Larsen shows you how to review the database mail items that have been processed by SQL Server.
The Control Poll
Do you use version control for your databases? For your application code? Is there a time when you think it's not needed? Steve Jones asks the question today.
Creatures of habit, snowflakes, and integration tax
Why are practices like version control, continuous integration and automated deployment being introduced to application development but left on the shelf when it comes to the database? In search...
Setup and Implement SQL Server 2016 Always On Distributed Availability Groups
SQL Server 2016 introduced a new feature called Distributed Availability Group. A Distributed Availability Group is a special type of Availability Group that spans two separate Availability Groups. Edwin Sarmiento explains.
The Shortcomings of Predictive Accuracy
In prediction, accuracy is key. But it's not all it's cracked up to be as we will explore.
Using Tools that Fit
Equipment can matter for IT professionals. Read a few thoughts from Andy Warren.
SQL Graph Objects in SQL Server 2017: the Good and the Bad
Graph databases are useful for certain types of database tasks that involve representing and traversing complex relationships between entities. These can be difficult to do in relational databases and even trickier to report on. Until now, we have had the choice of doing it awkwardly in SQL Server or having an ancillary database to tackle this type of task. SQL Server 2017 will be bringing graph capabilities to the product but will these features prove to be good enough to allow us to dispense with specialised Graph databases? Dennes Torres decided to find out.
Why don’t you unit test SQL Server code?
This post will show the benefits of test-driven development and including automated SQL Server unit testing within your release pipeline. Even if you have a large code base and no existing unit tests, you can start introducing tests now to make your database code more robust to change.
Blogs
Monday Monitor Tips: Virtual Machine Usage and Cost
By Steve Jones
One of the things I’ve been requesting for a number of years is cost...
Advice I Like: Respect
By Steve Jones
“Don’t aim to have others like you; aim to have them respect you.” –...
Blue Sky Programming – The Optimism Trap
Many years ago, before I joined Oracle, I was working on a major modernisation...
Forums
SQL Art, Part 4: Happy 4th of July — A British DBA's Guide to Celebrating a War We Don't Talk About
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Art, Part 4: Happy...
SQL Server Still Wins
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Server Still Wins
DBCC CHECKDB Limits I
Comments posted to this topic are about the item DBCC CHECKDB Limits I
Question of the Day
DBCC CHECKDB Limits I
When running DBCC CHECKDB on SQL Server 2025, can I include the Resource Database?
See possible answers