If you use scalar user-defined functions, and can't take advantage of new handling in SQL Server 2019, see some other ways to reduce the impact on performance.

Simplify your date range calculations when trying to find events that overlap (or don't).

Microsoft has pulled several patches for older versions of SQL Server. If you need TLS 1.2 support on an unsupported version, your recourse is to contact Microsoft support.

Some additional details about this sp_MSforeachdb (and sp_foreachdb) replacement.

I talk about the top 10 wait types observed among SentryOne customers, and where to turn when you experience one of them on your own system.

This replacement for sp_foreachdb makes even more improvements over the original system procedure, sp_MSforeachdb.

I show that, in some cases, INSTEAD OF triggers can be better for performance than AFTER triggers.

I talk about the pros and cons of letting SQL Server wait to get a more accurate cardinality estimate from a table variable.

I discuss a queue table for DDL notifications instead of handling them within a DDL trigger.

This tip was refreshed with status updates for some of the critical bugs discovered in MERGE over the years.

SQL Server will gladly tell you about missing indexes, but it may not give you the keys in the right order.

GDPR is a big deal for a lot of us; in this tip I explain how you might want to deal with "forget me" requests.

I show how to denormalize data using FOR XML PATH and STRING_AGG, and explain which one is faster.

Privacy laws are going to make us all much more careful about how we handle data archival and purge processes.

I show how to enable, disable, drop, and re-create all triggers in a database using dynamic SQL.

Estimated data size as a result of implicit conversions can make a huge difference in the execution plan.

In this tip, I talk about a slightly more flexible way to simulate TRY_CONVERT() on unsupported versions of SQL Server.

If you are still stuck on an unsupported version of SQL Server, there may still be a way for you to have TRY_CONVERT() functionality.

Check this list for possible problems if you have trouble connecting using the Dedicated Administrator Connection.

This was mostly tongue-in-cheek, but I show that there is no performance difference between tabs and spaces. (There is, however, a better reason to prefer tabs: accessibility.)

I address several questions raised during two parameter sniffing webinars I presented with Kimberly L. Tripp and Andy Mallon.

You can now enable this setting at the database level, optimizing performance there while not violating support for other vendor databases (like SharePoint).

See a few creative ways to make use of STRING_AGG() and STRING_SPLIT().

Some very important qualitative questions your company needs to ask itself to be sure you are complying with this new regulation.

Tip : Changes to SQL Server CXPACKET Wait Types

Tip : SQL Server DateTime Best Practices

Tip : Overview of Database Engine Changes in SQL Server 2017

In this tip, I dig into some of the inner workings of resumable index rebuilds.

Tip : Virtual Log File Monitoring in SQL Server 2017

Tip : Dealing with the single-character delimiter in STRING_SPLIT function

I illustrate why you should be very careful about oversizing varchar / nvarchar columns.

In this tip, I explain a simple trick to prevent accidental updates or deletes.

Tip : Performance Impact of SQL Server 2016 Row-Level Security

I show a "redundant" non-clustered index outperforming the clustered index with the same key.

I start a new series around disproving prevalent myths regarding SQL Server performance.

Tip : Auditing Who Changed Temporal Table Data in SQL Server

Tip : Managing Temporal Table History in SQL Server 2016

I show how to implement simple triggers that maintain trigram-type tables used for better supporting wildcard searches.

In an effort to make leading wildcard searches sargable, I play around with a trigram-type implementation in SQL Server.

Tip : Benefits of SCHEMABINDING in SQL Server

Tip : More on Recovering Access to a SQL Server Instance

I show that DISTINCT and GROUP BY are usually interchangeable, but there are cases where one performs better than the other.

I start digging deeper into the performance of string concatenation methods STRING_AGG and FOR XML PATH.

I take an initial look at the performance of a new function, STRING_AGG, in SQL Server v.Next CTP 1.1.

Tip : Top 5 Reasons for Wrong Results in SQL Server

I describe my steps for setting up a development stack, with VS Code on Mac, managing SQL Server on Ubuntu, inside a Docker container.

Tip : New Features in SQL Server 2016 Service Pack 1

After a conversation online, I show where excessive comments in your stored procedures might have an impact on performance.