Be the first to try Redgate SQL Compare 12
Hot on the heels of the SQL Server 2016 general release, the team at Redgate have just released beta builds for both SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare. As well as support for SQL Server 2016, these releases introduce a brand new user interface, and squash a whole host of bugs. In this blog post, Carly Meichen takes a closer look at what's new, and explains how you can give the development team your feedback and requests.
Looking at VIEWs, Close Up
Views in SQL can be difficult. It isn't easy to judge when to use them, It isn't always obvious how to determine if a view can be indexed or if it is updateable. Joe Celko takes a tricky topic and comes up with some helpful guidelines.
A New Sample Database
Microsoft has released the first version of a new sample database for SQL Server.
How to Query Comma Seperated Value Columns in SQL
Karthik provides a simple solution to querying a table that has comma separated values.
Accept Failure
Today Steve Jones talks about the risk inherent in any project, and how we should be aware of our mistakes, learn from them, and sometimes just give up when we've made too many.
Using LAST_VALUE
When I began using LAST_VALUE, the results were not what I expected at all. Read on to learn the secret!
The End of Big Data
What is next for big data? Some experts claim that data "volumes, velocity, variety and veracity" will only increase over time, requiring more data storage, faster machines and more sophisticated analysis tools. However, this is short-sighted, and does not take into account how data degrades over time. Analysis of historical data will always be with us, but generation of the most useful analyses will be done with data we already have. To adapt, most organizations must grow and mature their analytical environments. Lockwood Lyon shares the steps they must take to prepare for the transition.
Blogs
Narrow Task Decomposition in AI Pipeline Agents
A nightly load into sales_fact fails. Ask an orchestrating agent to break down the...
Car Update: August 2026
By Steve Jones
It’s been some time since I provided a car update, so I decided to...
Microsoft Fabric OneLake Shortcuts: When to Use Them and When Not To
By James Serra
An architecture scenario Imagine separate Sales, Finance, Shared Data, and Executive Analytics workspaces. Sales...
Forums
Backing Up a DMK
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The Quiet Part
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BIT_COUNT in SQL Server
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Question of the Day
Backing Up a DMK
In SQL Server 2025, I have a database with a Database Masker Key (DMK). I want to back up this key and keep a copy offline. When do I have to open this key before running the backup?
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