Your Frame of Reference
How you examine and approach a problem might have a large impact on how you solve it. Steve Jones notes that it's important that all of us look at the problem from the point of view of the customer, as well as our own view.
Exploring In-memory OLTP Engine (Hekaton) in SQL Server 2014 CTP1
The continuing drop in the price of memory has made fast in-memory OLTP increasingly viable. SQL Server 2014 allows you to migrate the most-used tables in an existing database to memory-optimized 'Hekaton' technology, but how you balance between disk tables and in-memory tables for optimum performance requires judgement and experiment.
New SQL Monitor Custom Metric: Untrusted Check Constraints
This metric returns the number of check constraints that have their is_not_trusted flag set to 1 in the sys.check_constraints table. Untrusted constraints force SQL Server to construct less efficient query plans, because it doesn’t know enough about the kind of data contained in the table. This can point to a data integrity issue which should be investigated.
A Better Conference
Is there a better way to put together a conference or event? Today Steve Jones speculates on how events are run and how we might change things.
SQL Server Trace Flags
A comprehensive list of trace flags for SQL Server that you can use to configure your server instance.
SQL Server 2012 Integration Services - Leveraging PowerShell in Package Deployment Model
SQL Server 2012 Integration Services introduces an innovative approach to deploying SSIS projects, known as Project Deployment Model. However, the traditional, package-based methodology remains available and supported, and, in some scenarios, it might be considered more viable, since it allows for separation of SQL Server Database Engine and SQL Server Integration Services.
Why SQL Server 2012 needs Windows Server 2012
While AlwaysOn and Columnar lookup are good enough reasons to migrate to SQL Server 2012, you need to be aware of the problems associated with certain virtualize environments.
Don Knuth and the Art of Computer Programming: The Interview
Fifty years after starting the 'Art of Computer Programming', Don Knuth is still working hard at the project. It is considered amongst the "hundred or so books that shaped a century of science”. Richard Morris asks him how things are going, and to find out more about his many achievements.
Blogs
Webinar: Navigating the Database Landscape in 2026
By Steve Jones
For a number of years, we’ve produced the State of the Database Landscape report,...
Claude AI Convinced Me Not to Build an iPad App
By Steve Jones
I coach volleyball and I do a lot of stat stuff on paper. I...
A New Word: Dolorblindness
By Steve Jones
dolorblindness – n. the frustration that you’ll never be able to understand another person’s...
Forums
The Power of Data and Privacy
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Power of Data and...
What's the Date?
Comments posted to this topic are about the item What's the Date?
Two New Shortcuts for Fabric Lakehouse Developers: The Fabric Modern Data Platform
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Two New Shortcuts for Fabric...
Question of the Day
What's the Date?
In SQL Server 2025, there is a new function that returns the current date without the time. What is it?
See possible answers