The Cascading (CROSS) APPLY
An old trick nowadays but one which is still underused here on SSC is the cascading CROSS APPLY – where output from one CROSS APPLY is used as input for another.
Optimizing Batch Process in SQL Server
SQL Server batch processes are usually run from SQL Agent in the background. Often, the responsibility for creating these tasks belongs entirely to the developer. Dennes Torres demonstrates that DBAs can advise and assist with this type of batch job to help reduce their impact on the working system.
Big Data for SQL folks: The Technologies (Part I)
Will RDBMs be obsolete? Should Data Professionals care about Big Data technologies? What is NoSQL? What is Hadoop? Big Data-the whole story.
Native Audits
This week Steve Jones asks if you're using the SQL Audit feature built into SQL Server.
Database Continuous Integration Workshop - London, UK
Join this workshop on July 8, 2015 to learn how to: link your source control repository to a build system, trigger database builds automatically when you make a change, use DLM tools to test your database changes, and lay the foundations for package-based deployment of your database. Register while space is available.
Developer-Tester Relationships
In a development team, there are times when the relationships between developers and testers can become strained. How can you turn this potential conflict into something more positive? Is it part of the skill of team-working to find ways of avoiding friction, or should one blame a system that relies on good social skills to work well?
Interactive Parameter Selection with Reporting Services
Revamp the classic Reporting Services interface with a more modern look and feel adapted to mobile BI
Naming Confusion
The naming of systems and other technological constructs is always a debate within groups. Steve Jones points out a few places where this might actually prevent mistakes.
PCI Best Practices Guide for SQL Server DBAs
Tibor Nagy has put together some best practices to help SQL Server DBAs navigate the many different requirements around PCI compliance.
Controlling Alerts
Being on call is not much fun for anyone, but it can certainly be hard on those that receive lots of calls for systemic issues. Are there better ways to manage this?
Blogs
A New Word: los vidados
By Steve Jones
los vidados – n. the half-remembered acquaintances you knew years ago, who you might...
In-Person CISA Training – April 13-16, 2026
By Brian Kelley
I will be leading an in-person Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exam prep class...
EightKB 2026
EightKB is back again for 2026! The biggest online SQL Server internals conference is...
Forums
query to track time spent on individual tasks in SSIS
Hi everyone I am looking at building a query to determine how much time...
SQL Server Transactional Replication from Always On Availability Groups to Azure SQL Database
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Server Transactional Replication from...
Hidden Heroes
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Hidden Heroes
Question of the Day
Identities and Sequences I
When thinking of the Identity property for auto incrementing columns and sequences for the same action, which are explicitly linked to increment a number in a table when a new row is added?
See possible answers