Please stop using this UPSERT anti-pattern
There is a very common anti-pattern you should avoid, involving updating a row if it exists and inserting it if it doesn't. See how to avoid race conditions and deadlocks.
There is a very common anti-pattern you should avoid, involving updating a row if it exists and inserting it if it doesn't. See how to avoid race conditions and deadlocks.
Altering a fixed-width column on a large table can often mean either a lot of planning or a lot of downtime, but in some scenarios there may be an easy out.
We had a case where we increased a varchar column's size, ONLINE, but it caused significant downstream effects. See why.
There are some limitations with STRING_SPLIT that could be overcome, but the cleanest solution might be to add a new function altogether.
SQL Server 2016 SP2 Cumulative Update #14 is available, with 18 enhancements. The build number is 13.0.5830.85.
My daughter surprised me with a question about work last week, and I answered her by invoking Taylor Swift.
SQL Server 2019 Cumulative Update #6 is available, with 51 enhancements. The build number is 15.0.4053.23.
Find out about the replacement I wrote for the undocumented, unsupported, and ill-advised system procedure, sp_MSforeachdb.
A quick update on some maintenance I performed on the site over the weekend.
Updated in 2020 with a few new entries, this is a fairly comprehensive list of the reasons behind various 18456 error messages.
For this month's T-SQL Tuesday, Kerry Tyler asks us to talk about something that went wrong. I had plenty to choose from, and went way back to ~2002 for this short story.
SQL Server 2017 Cumulative Update #21 is available, with 35 enhancements. The build number is 14.0.3335.7.
Encourage PASS to show they are a diverse and inclusive community.
SQL Server 2019 Cumulative Update #5 is available, with 86 enhancements. The build number is 15.0.4043.16.
See two ways you can make the relevant data in the system_health session last longer and not get drowned out by noise.
For this month's T-SQL Tuesday, let's talk about something you're more likely to hear from a carpenter: Measure twice, cut once.
See how to work around some of the blockers for replacing legacy UDFs with STRING_SPLIT.
SQL Server 2016 SP2 Cumulative Update #13 is available, with 29 enhancements. The build number is 13.0.5820.21.
Access the system_health file target without tedious string parsing gymnastics.
This series shows how I determine the amount of data distributed across indexes, files, filegroups, and partitions.
Dig into an intermittent stack dump involving an aggregate query against a heap with a LOB column.