Just Say No
Steve Jones reminds us that we must manage our time, and learn to do so despite the demands placed on us.
SQL Prompt Tips #7 - Begin End Highlighting
This SQL Prompt tip shows you how code highlighting makes it easier to find which items match up with each other.
COALESCE in SQL Server
Sandeep Mittal provides an introduction to the COALESCE function and shows how to use it.
Hadoop many flavors of SQL
What are the most popular SQL implementations for Hadoop? How different are they from T-SQL?
The Biggest Data Breach (For Now)
JP Morgan suffers the largest data breach for a financial institution, but Steve Jones doesn't think this record will stand for long.
Azure SQL Database - Transparent Data Encryption
Transparent Data Encryption offers the ability to encrypt content of the database, its transaction logs, as well as backups while at rest. Encryption and decryption are performed in real-time, at the individual page level, as the database is being written to and read from storage, without necessitating changes to applications accessing their data. Marcin Policht reviews the feature.
Getting ready for Hadoop
Before adopting Hadoop into your organisation there are a number of factors to consider. This article highlights some of the key points.
SQL Server Heaps, and Their Fragmentation
In SQL Server, heaps are rightly treated with suspicion. Although there are rare cases where they perform well, they are likely to be the cause of poor performance. If a table is likely to have a large number of changes, then it can become fragmented due to way that space is allocated and forward pointers used. How does one detect this problem? Is it significant? How does one deal with it, if necessary? Neeraj Tripathi explains.
Early Adopters
Today we have a guest editorial from Andy Warren that looks at those that run software early in its lifecycle.
Blogs
ISACA AI Material/Exam Prep Discount (May 18 – June 30, 2026)
By Brian Kelley
If you are considering any of the ISACA AI certs like the Advanced Artificial...
A Fabric solution can be very cost effective
By ChrisJenkins
Are you currently using Microsoft Fabric or considering migrating to it? If so, there...
Track SQL Server Configuration Changes Using the Error Log
By SQLPals
Track SQL Server Configuration Changes Using the Error Log If you...
Forums
We Are Eating Our Own Seed Corn
Comments posted to this topic are about the item We Are Eating Our Own...
Before Using AI with Business Data, Read This
Artificial intelligence tools are quickly becoming part of daily business operations, from document analysis...
Designing SQL Server ETL Pipelines That Don't Break at Scale
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Designing SQL Server ETL Pipelines...
Question of the Day
Detecting Deadlocks Quickly
In the Database Engine, when a deadlock is detected, what does the detection interval shrink to (in time)?
See possible answers