Look Beyond the First Result
As computer systems become more complex and dynamic, it's possible that the results we see might not be what we expect. Steve Jones talks about a situation with Orbitz.
SQL Saturday #192 - Tampa
Come and join SQL Saturday Tampa in their new venue (HCC) now that they've outgrown K-Force!
Full Text Searches on Documents in FileTables
SQL Server's FileTable technology is an intriguing way of accomodating file-based text data in a database, and allowing for complex searches. As with most technologies, the best way of learning them is to try it out and experiment. Feodor shows how to set it up, add some sample data and set up full-text search.
Data Profiling with T-SQL
Need to understand new data? This article explains why - and how you can profile it efficiently
Deploying Databases to the Azure Cloud: an extended plea
Is there a sound technical reason why SQL Azure can't support extended properties?
The Dark Side
Steve Jones talks a little about Oracle after speaking at an event devoted to that technology.
Backing Up SQL Server Databases Participating In Availability Groups
So I am using this new technology called Availability Groups that was introduced in SQL Server 2012. I have heard I can offload my backups to a secondary replica, but I am not sure how that works or how to configure those backups. Are there any limitations? Check out this tip to learn more.
Early Software
This week Steve Jones reminisces about the first software he used. He asks you what inspired you to start working with computers.
PowerShell Basics
Powershell. I have seen the word but what is it? This article gives you a basic introduction to what PowerShell is and how you might use it.
NoSQL for the MSSQL Soul
The buzz around NoSQL solutions has reached stratospheric heights. This buzz has led many Microsoft SQL Server development shops to start looking at how and where a NoSQL solution can fit into their business.
Blogs
A bespoke reporting solution doesn’t have to cost the earth
By ChrisJenkins
You could be tolerating limited reporting because there isn’t an off the shelf solution...
Presenting with Visual Studio Code
A while back I wrote a quick post on setting up key mappings in...
Advice I Like: In 100 Years
By Steve Jones
In 100 years a lot of what we take to be true now will...
Forums
AllocationType as ROW_OVERFLOW_DATA
Hello, I inherited a number of tables with like 20-30 column using nvarchar(256) in...
is it true we cant debug c# scripts in ssis anymore under vs
Hi, i'm running vs2022. I'm trying out a c# script that i'd like to...
Question of the Day
Missing the Jaro Winkler Distance
I upgraded a SQL Server 2019 instance to SQL Server 2025. I wanted to test the fuzzy string search functions. I run this code:
SELECT JARO_WINKLER_DISTANCE('tim', 'tom')
I get this error message:Msg 195, Level 15, State 10, Line 1 'JARO_WINKLER_DISTANCE' is not a recognized built-in function name.What is wrong? See possible answers