Excel File Data Validation for SQL Server Imports
Jeffrey Yao suggests a solution to validate Excel data via PowerShell and Regular Expressions.
MCSA 70-462 Training Kit Preparation: Hyper-V Lab Environment Setup
If you are planning on taking the Microsoft Certification Exam for 70-462, this guide provides the step-by-step instructions to completely setup your Hyper-V lab environment used in the official training kit.
PowerShell and ADO.NET Connection String Settings for SQL Server
Tim Smith addresses some common questions from PowerShell developers about connection strings, errors with strings, and alternative development approaches to using connection strings.
When to Quote in PowerShell
The one question about PowerShell that trips up almost everyone is about when and how to quote strings. Because PowerShell replaces the old command shell, it has to be able to work the way that it did with string parameters, but it also has to behave like a .NET scripting language to replace VBA. In this article, Michael Sorens explains the how and when of PowerShell quoting.
More on CXPACKET Waits: Skewed Parallelism
When cardinality estimates are incorrect, the parallel threads doing the query work are given uneven amounts of work to do. This problem can lead to a seeming explosion in CXPACKET waits occurring and is commonly called skewed parallelism; Paul Randal explains how to check for it.
SQL 2016: Columnstore row group Merge policy and index maintenance improvements
Denzil Ribeiro looks at how SQL Server 2016's new Merge functionality in INDEX REORGANIZE simplifies Columnstore index maintenance significantly.
Blogs
Learn about Modern Microsoft Apps in San Diego
By Steve Jones
I wrote about learning today for the editorial: I Can’t Make You Learn. I...
How To Deploy Fabric SQL and Azure SQL Databases with Azure DevOps
By ReviewMyDB
Fabric has CI/CD built in, but if you've tried to use it for database...
A New Word: Attriage
By Steve Jones
attriage – n. the state of having lost all control over how you feel...
Forums
SSRS Reminded Me of the Time Microsoft Retired TMG
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SSRS Reminded Me of the...
Getting results from a Procedure to join to a query
I have a need to execute a stored procedure and return the results to...
Upgrade 2016 Standard to 2022 Express
Title pretty much says it all - can this be done? I've tried several...
Question of the Day
BIT_COUNT II
In SQL Server 2025, I have a table (dbo.UserPermission) that contains this data:
UserID UserPermissions 15 23 37 4 NULLWhat is returned when I run this code:
select bit_count(UserPermissions) as PermissionCount from dbo.UserPermission where UserID = 4;See possible answers