The Hidden Danger of Wildcard Operators In Join Operations
This article looks at one of the killers of performance at scale, SELECT *.
How to get clean, usable data out of SQL Server into Python
Build scalable data pipelines by pushing transformations into SQL and keeping Python focused on analysis.
Building Great Software
Steve notes that building great software isn't easy, and there is a lot of work that goes into this. Even in today's age of AI.
OUTER APPLY Fundamentals: Part 2
In Part 2 of this series we learn how OUTER APPLY can be used in your queries to return data, even when there are no matches between tables.
Create SQL Server 2025 Availability Groups with SSMS Wizard
SQL Server Availability Groups are great for DR and HA purposes. In this article, we look at how to setup a SQL Server 2025 Availability Group using the features in SQL Server Management Studio.
How to Work with On-Premises AI Models to Generate T-SQL Code
See how a small local model performs on some SQL tasks. This shows how Ollama can run a model on your laptop.
Imagine the Physical World
Today Steve notes that he often compares the work a computer does to what might happen if the same actions occurred in the physical world.
How SQL Server maintenance becomes an attack path – and what to do about it
The article covers four connected areas: over-privileged database users, msdb and SQL Server Agent exposure, privileged maintenance jobs, and trigger-based permission hijacking.
Managing Incidents and Fighting Fires
Managing incidents as a DBA /DB manager and some of the key things you should be doing.
BIT_COUNT in SQL Server
Learn how the BIT_COUNT() function works and how it enabled operations where data is stored in bits.
Blogs
Don’t Fear the Technology
By Brian Kelley
The concern that a particular technology is going to destroy the world seems to...
Creating a Custom SQL Server Security Checklist Using the DoD STIG
The STIG is detailed, which is a good thing, but I found myself wanting...
Creating a Local Model Chatbot on Windows
By Steve Jones
After my session at VSLive last week, I had a few questions from the...
Forums
RegEx Functions III
Comments posted to this topic are about the item RegEx Functions III
Optimized Locking in SQL Server 2025: Fewer Locks, Less Blocking, and the Cases It Cannot Fix
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Optimized Locking in SQL Server...
Finely Tuned Models
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Finely Tuned Models
Question of the Day
RegEx Functions III
If I run the REGEXP_LIKE() function, does it match values in a case-sensitive fashion, or a case-insensitive fashion by default.
See possible answers