How to USE a Calendar Table – Part 2
In this part of my "using a calendar table" series, I talk about filling gaps and identifying gaps and islands.
How to USE a Calendar Table – Part 1
It seems a lifetime ago I wrote about creating a calendar table; now I've started a new series showing how to use the calendar table. In the first installment, I deal with business day problems.
SQL Server 2019 Cumulative Update #10
SQL Server 2019 Cumulative Update #10 is available, with 63 enhancements. The build number is 15.0.4123.1.
Maintaining LastModified Without Triggers
A not exactly innovative post about using Temporal Tables functionality to automatically update a LastModified column.
SQL Server 2016 SP2 Cumulative Update #17
SQL Server 2016 SP2 Cumulative Update #17 is available, with 20 enhancements. The build number is 13.0.5888.11.
Deprecated features to take out of your toolbox – Part 2
I use a real-world example showing why you shouldn't use deprecated functionality like SQL Server Profiler.
My two least favorite data types
For this month's T-SQL Tuesday, I talk about my two least favorite data types: money and datetimeoffset.
When does SQL Server think YYYY-DD-MM is a valid date?
In this tip, I talk about cases where SQL Server will interpret YYYY-MM-DD as YYYY-DD-MM, which is less than optimal.
Deprecated features to take out of your toolbox – Part 1
I talk about one scenario where the system table sys.sysprocesses almost led us down the wrong path.
Enforcing unique constraints where order doesn't matter
After seeing this question pop up on forums multiple times, I wrote a quick tip about enforcing unique constraints where order doesn't matter.
SQL Server 2019 Cumulative Update #9
SQL Server 2019 Cumulative Update #9 is available, with 140 enhancements. The build number is 15.0.4102.2.
Performance of sys.partitions
After a question on #sqlhelp, I dug into what could be making sys.partitions slow, and how they might get the required information in a more efficient way.
Maybe you do want to collect database name in Extended Events
While I previously promoted a way to stop storing database name in your Extended Events sessions, there's an upside to collecting it: the ability to filter. Read on for more info.
Patch Tuesday 2021-01-12 : SQL Server Updates
A security fix for an elevation of privilege issue has been released for all supported versions of SQL Server.
T-SQL Tuesday #134 : Give Me a Break!
For this month's T-SQL Tuesday I talk about a few distractions I enjoy when not slinging T-SQL.
A use case for sp_prepare / sp_prepexec
I explain a recent case where sp_prepare came in handy: trying to validate a plan guide's impact.
An Extended Events conundrum : collect_database_name
I talk about a trade-off when using collect_database_name for DDL events captured by Extended Events.
2020 : Community Influencer of the Year
I recognize this year's recipient of my Community Influence of the Year award.
T-SQL Tuesday #133 : What (Else) Have You Learned from Presenting?
This month's T-SQL Tuesday is about what we've learned from presenting. I give an embarrassing account about how I learned to be prepared and not go off script.
T-SQL Tuesday #132 : A Global Pandemic
This month's T-SQL Tuesday is about how we are dealing with the madness that is 2020.
Navigating DBCC CHECKDB for VLDB
I recently came across an interesting issue with CHECKDB snapshots, as well as a bit of information missing from the documentation.