What is Database Continuous Integration?
This is an introductory article to explain what Continuous Integration (CI) is and how it can be used in database development.
Deleting Historical Data from a Large Highly Concurrent SQL Server Database Table
In this tip, Daniel Farina explains an unconventional way of deleting millions of old records from a table which is accessed by a system 24x7, and without impacting that system.
A Hazard of Using the SQL Update Statement
If you've never encountered this quirk of the SQL UPDATE statement, you should take a look and find a simple way around it.
The Devil's in the Details
This week Steve Jones notes that the little details can sometimes have a big impact in your code.
Your Cloud Held Hostage – Could It Happen?
Today's guest editorial by Andy Warren is more of a movie plot than reality, but perhaps it's worth considering.
Introduction to SQL Server Spatial Data
More and more applications require the handling of geospatial data. It is easy to store spatial data, but it takes rather more thought to retrieve and manipulate it. Tasks like searching neighborhoods, and calculating distances between points is often required from databases. But how do you start? Roy and Surenda take you through the basics.
Calculating Duration Using DATETIME Start and End Dates (SQL Spackle)
It's an old problem with a solution that's nearly as old. SQL Server MVP Jeff Moden shows us the old trick mixed with a slick trick to format the duration as extended hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds.
Large Chunks of Data
This Friday Steve Jones talks reporting. Specifically he wonders how long can a report be before it's just wasting space.
Azure Active Directory - Schema Extensions
The Azure Active Directory Graph API enables some interesting scenarios that you can implement in your applications by enabling you to query and manipulate directory objects in Azure AD. In this article, Rick Rainey provides a clear walkthrough of its implementation.
A More Versatile SQL Server Random Number Function
Image a situation when you use the SQL Server RAND() T-SQL function as a column in a SELECT statement, and the same value is returned for every row as shown below. In this tip, Dallas Snider explains how you can get differing random values on each row.
Blogs
Local LLM Models at SQL Saturday Boston 2025
By Steve Jones
I’m starting a long trip at Boston this weekend. I’ll be there Saturday speaking,...
3 things you must do to start data quality management right
As a data & AI strategist who’s seen countless projects succeed and fail, I...
Set Theory vs. Batch Mode in SQL Server
By SQLPals
Set Theory vs. Batch Mode in SQL Server Not long ago,...
Forums
Changing the Recovery Time
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Changing the Recovery Time
Getting More Time from AI
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Getting More Time from AI
When Page Prefetching Takes a Back Seat – Exploring Trace Flag 652 in SQL Server
Comments posted to this topic are about the item When Page Prefetching Takes a...
Question of the Day
Changing the Recovery Time
I want to change the recovery time for a database running on SQL Server 2022. What are my options for setting the value in my ALTER DATABASE statement. If I run this code, what can I use in place of the xxx to define what 12 means?
ALTER DATABASE Finance SET TARGET_RECOVERY_TIME = 12 xxx;See possible answers