DeveloperBall
Steve Jones looks at the challenges of putting a team together of wildly different skill levels.
Declarative SQL: Using CHECK() & DEFAULT
SQL is unusual is that data is not passively stored. Instead you use declarative SQL to specify the rules that underlie the data and its integrity. When used properly, constraints can avoid having to provide a lot of logic elsewhere. CHECK() and DEFAULT can do a lot to ensure that your data is correct
Backup File Inventory
Are you using Ola Hallengren's Maintenance Solution? Here's a Python script that helps you keep track of your backup file inventory.
Crafting Your Resume
Today Steve Jones talks about how you can present yourself better within the confines of a resume.
Microsoft IT: A Case Study on “Hekaton” against RPM
I/O latch can cause session delays that impact application performance. This white paper describes the procedures and common I/O latch issues when migrating to Hekaton in SQL Server 2014. It also includes challenges that occurred during the migration and the performance analysis at different stages.
Create/write to an Excel 2007/2010 spreadsheet from an SSIS package
Excel spreadsheets are useful for distributing data generated by SQL Server. EPPlus is an open source .NET library that reads/writes Excel 2007/2010 files using the Open Office XML format (XLSX). It is a mature project, and plays well with SSIS.
The Market
This Friday Steve Jones asks about the market price for your skills. Do you know what it is?
Correct SQL Server TempDB Spills in Query Plans Caused by Outdated Statistics
Sergey Gigoyan looks at how to address the warning: Operator used tempdb to spill data during execution with spill level 1.
Design a Better SQL Server Pricing Model
Today we have a guest editorial from Andy Warren that talks about SQL Server the no one's favorite topic: licensing.
Microsoft Azure DocumentDB
Microsoft's DocumentDB is a late-entrant in the Document-oriented database field. However, it benefits from being designed from the start as a cloud service with a SQL-like language. It is intended for mobile and web applications. Its JSON document-notation is compatible with the integrated JavaScript language that drives its multi-document transaction processing via stored procedures, triggers and UDFs. Robert Sheldon investigates its SQL-like query language.
Blogs
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...
Setting Up a Mac for Data Engineering and AI Work
If you work with data pipelines, SQL, notebooks, or machine learning models, a Mac...
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...
locking down agent for new user on our dev machine
hi , a new user wants to be able to add sql agent jobs...
SQL Server Enum Implementation: A Single-Row View Strategy for Avoiding Magic Values
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Server Enum Implementation: A...
Question of the Day
BIT_COUNT I
In SQL Server 2025, I have a table (dbo.UserPermission) that contains this data:
UserID UserPermissions 15 23 37What is returned when I run this code:
select bit_count(UserPermissions) as PermissionCount from dbo.UserPermission where UserID = 3;See possible answers