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Thomas LaRock Tom LaRock's SQL Server Howlers
by Thomas LaRock | 05 January 2012 |  17 comments |
In this next article in our series where well-known SQL Server people write about their favorite SQL Server Howlers, we asked Tom Larock for his top five common misunderstandings about how SQL Server works that end in tears, and plaintive forum questions. Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Window Functions in SQL Server: Part 3: Questions of Performance
by Fabiano Amorim | 04 January 2012 |
A SQL expression may look elegant on the page but it is only valuable if its performance is good. Do window functions run quicker than their conventional equivalent code? Fabiano gives a definitive answer. Read more...
Robert Sheldon Incorporating XML into your Database Objects
by Robert Sheldon | 04 January 2012 |  4 comments |
XML data can become a full participant in a SQL Server Database, and can be used in views, functions, check constraints, computed columns and defaults. Views and table-valued functions can be used to provide a tabular view of XML data that can be used in SQL... Read more...
Robert Sheldon The XML Methods in SQL Server
by Robert Sheldon | 08 December 2011 |  5 comments |
The XML Data type has definite uses, but the way of interrogating, retrieving, and manipulating the values of properties and attributes within XML have been so foreign to the SQL language as to be somewhat of a barrier to their use. Fortunately, Robert Sheldon has... Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Window Functions in SQL Server: Part 2-The Frame
by Fabiano Amorim | 24 November 2011 |  3 comments |
Fabiano continues his introduction to SQL Server's implementation of the window functions by giving a history of what got implemented and when, and explaining the concept of the 'Frame' in a window function, with plenty of examples. Read more...
Robert Sheldon Working with the XML Data Type in SQL Server
by Robert Sheldon | 07 November 2011 |  1 comment |
The XML data type, introduced in SQL Server 2005, is a powerful construct. When used wisely, it can provide useful extensions to SQL Server. Robert Sheldon, in the first part of a series, describes how create and index a typed XML column in a table, and discusses... Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Window Functions in SQL Server
by Fabiano Amorim | 27 October 2011 |  9 comments |
When SQL Server introduced Window Functions in SQL Server 2005, it was done in a rather tentative way, with only a handful of functions being introduced. This was frustrating, as they remove the last excuse for cursor-based operations by providing aggregations over ... Read more...
Roy Ernest Resource Governor
by Roy Ernest | 26 October 2011 |  11 comments |
If you suffer from runaway queries, if you have several database applications with unpredictable fluctuation in workload, or if you need to ensure that workloads get the memory or CPU they need according to certain priorities, then you need Resource Governer, and... Read more...
Robert Young Going Beyond the Relational Model with Data
by Robert Young | 27 September 2011 |  5 comments |
SQL is a powerful tool for querying data, and for aggregating it. However, you can't easily use it to draw inferences, to make predictions, or to tease out subtle correlations. To provide ever more sophisticated inferences to businesses, the race is on to combine... Read more...
Chris Shaw Building Your DBA Skillset
by Chris Shaw | 06 July 2011 |  5 comments |
As a DBA and hiring manager, Chris Shaw has been on those sides of the recruitement process. As an MVP and active member of the SQL Server community, he knows what resources are available to help DBAs hone their abilities. Who better to guide you through the many... Read more...
Fabiano Amorim ShowPlan Operator of the Week - Split, Sort, Collapse
by Fabiano Amorim | 11 April 2011 |  7 comments |
'Split, Sort & Collapse' is, happily, not a description of the intrepid Fabiano after his epic series of articles about the ShowPlan operators. With renewed stamina, Fabiano continues his mission to describe all the major operators by explaining the Trivial Plan and... Read more...
Joe Celko Check your Digits
by Joe Celko | 07 April 2011 |  2 comments |
The most persistent struggle in data processing has been to ensure clean data. There are many ways that data can be incorrect and a database must check, as best it can, that the data is correct. The CHECK constraint is ideally suited for this sort of work, and the... Read more...
Phil Factor How to Import Data from HTML pages
by Phil Factor | 30 March 2011 |  4 comments |
It turns out that there are plenty of ways to get data into SQL Server from websites, whether the data is in tables, lists or DIVs Phil finds to his surprise that it is easier to use Powershell and the HTML Agility Pack, than some of the more traditional... Read more...
Timothy Wiseman SQL Injection: Defense in Depth
by Timothy Wiseman | 17 March 2011 |  9 comments |
So much has been written about SQL Injection, yet such attacks continue to succeed, even against security consultants' websites. The problem is often that only part of the solution is described, whereas the best practice requires the use of defense in depth. Read more...
Paul White Understanding and Using Parallelism in SQL Server
by Paul White | 03 March 2011 |  39 comments |
SQL Server is able to make implicit use of parallelism to speed SQL queries. Quite how it does it, and how you can be sure that it is doing so, isn't entirely obvious to most of us. Paul White begins a series that makes it all seem simple, starting at the gentle... Read more...
Grant Fritchey Change Management and Source Control
by Grant Fritchey | 03 March 2011 |  11 comments |
So, given the many good reasons for using Version Control systems for managing the changes in database applications, how does one go about the rather different routines of team development, such as testing, continuous integration, and managing data? What are the... Read more...
Robert Sheldon Bulk Inserts via TSQL in SQL Server
by Robert Sheldon | 31 January 2011 |  14 comments |
The trouble with using BCP for reading data into SQL Server is that BCP is a command-line program. Fortunately, the same input functionality is available from TSQL within SQL Server. In fact there are two ways, and it is not always obvious which to use. Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Showplan Operator of the Week - Merge Interval
by Fabiano Amorim | 11 January 2011 |  5 comments |
When Fabiano agreed to undertake the epic task of describing each showplan operator, none of us quite predicted the interesting ways that the series helps to understand how the query optimiser works. With the Merge Interval, Fabiano comes up with some insights about... Read more...
Michelle Ufford Effective Clustered Indexes
by Michelle Ufford | 06 January 2011 |  18 comments |
As a guideline, clustered Indexes should be Narrow, Unique, Static and Ever Increasing (NUSE). Michelle Ufford Explains why. Read more...
Robert Sheldon The DELETE statement in SQL Server
by Robert Sheldon | 25 November 2010 |  13 comments |
Of the big four DML statements in SQL Server, the DELETE is the one least written about. This is odd considering the extra power conferred on the statement by the addition of the WITH common_table_expression; and the OUTPUT clause that essentially allows you to move... Read more...
Fabiano Amorim ShowPlan Operator of the Week - Merge Join
by Fabiano Amorim | 22 November 2010 |  7 comments |
Did you ever wonder how and why your indexes affect the performance of joins? Once you've read Fabiano's unforgettable explanation, you'll learn to love the MERGE operator, and plan your indexes so as to allow the Query Optimiser to use it. Read more...
Robert Sheldon Working with Window Functions in SQL Server
by Robert Sheldon | 28 October 2010 |  4 comments |
With SQL Server 2005, SQL Server introduced some of SQL's window functions, that apply, not to the full set, but a partitioned 'window'. Although the ROW_NUMBER, RANK, NTILE and DENSE_RANK bring great power to TSQL, the full versatility will not be available until... Read more...
Joe Celko VALUES() and Long Parameter Lists - Part II
by Joe Celko | 28 October 2010 |  1 comment |
The use of the comma-separated list of parameters to a SQL routine, that Phil Factor calls the 'comedy-limited list, is a device that makes seasoned SQL Database developers wince. The best choice of design for passing variable numbers of parameters or tuples to SQL... Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Showplan Operator of the Week - SORT
by Fabiano Amorim | 11 October 2010 |  11 comments |
Fabiano introduces another ShowPlan operator that is used to build a query plan, or perform an operation specified in the DML. Once again, Fabiano demonstrates why it is important to be aware of these operators when getting queries to perform well. Read more...
Robert Sheldon Working with the INSERT statement in SQL Server
by Robert Sheldon | 27 September 2010 |  12 comments |
The INSERT statement in SQL Server is versatile. It now allows the insertion of multiple rows of literal values. It also provides the output clause that solves a number of common problems such as ascertaining the value of identity fields, and other calculated fields... Read more...
Jonathan Lewis Oracle to SQL Server: Putting the Data in the Right Place
by Jonathan Lewis | 17 September 2010 |  4 comments |
Jonathan Lewis is an Oracle expert who is recording his exploration of SQL Server in a series of articles. In this fourth part, he turns his attention to clustered indexes, and the unusual requirement SQL Server seems to have for the regular rebuilding of indexes. Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Showplan Operator of the Week - Stream Aggregate
by Fabiano Amorim | 10 September 2010 |  4 comments |
Fabiano continues his mission to explain the Query Optimiser in practical terms, describing, one week at a time, all the major Showplan Operators used by SQL Server's Query Optimiser to build the Query Plan. He discusses the Stream Aggregate function and shows how... Read more...
Joe Celko The DIS-Information Principle, Part II
by Joe Celko | 01 September 2010 |  16 comments |
Database design simply involves populating a schema with tables that model sets of entities and relationships. A table will contain Columns that model an entity's attributes and contain scalar values. What could go wrong? Plenty, unfortunately, when these simple... Read more...
Robert Sheldon The MERGE Statement in SQL Server 2008
by Robert Sheldon | 27 August 2010 |  13 comments |
When the SQL MERGE statement was introduced in SQL Server 2008, it allowed database programmers to replace reams of messy code with something quick, simple and maintainable. The MERGE syntax just takes a bit of explaining, and Rob Sheldon is, as always, on hand to... Read more...
Robert Sheldon Implementing the OUTPUT Clause in SQL Server 2008
by Robert Sheldon | 22 July 2010 |  4 comments |
In retrospect, it was probably the inclusion of the OUTPUT clause in the MERGE statement that gave SQL Server 2008 its most powerful SQL enhancement.. It isn't the easiest of features to explain, but Bob does it in his usual clear and careful way. Read more...
Joe Celko VALUES() and Long Parameter Lists
by Joe Celko | 22 July 2010 |  15 comments |
To make progress as a relational Database programmer, you have to think in terms of sets, rather than lists, arrays or sequential data. Until that point, you'll feel the need to pass lists, arrays and the like to functions and procedures. Joe suggests some unusual... Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Showplan Operator of the Week - Row Count Spool
by Fabiano Amorim | 06 July 2010 |  1 comment |
The Row Count Spool operator is a simple component in an execution plan that can make an enormous difference to SQL query plans that would otherwise read a table on every row of the inner input to a nested loop. As this is a common type of query, it illustrates the... Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Operator of the Week - Index Spool
by Fabiano Amorim | 25 June 2010 |  1 comment |
If you've ever wondered what happens to your queries if you're not conscientious about creating indexes, then Fabiano Amorim has yet another nugget of Execution Plan wisdom for you. The Query Optimizer's solution is to use the Nonclustered Index Spool, and we're... Read more...
Jonathan Lewis Oracle to SQL Server, Crossing the Great Divide, Part 3
by Jonathan Lewis | 23 June 2010 |  3 comments |
We soon learn, in SQL Server, that heaps are a bad thing, without necessarily understanding how or why. Jonathan Lewis is an Oracle expert who doesn't like to take such strictures for granted, especially when they don't apply to Oracle. Jonathan discovers much... Read more...
Robert Sheldon UPDATE Basics in SQL Server
by Robert Sheldon | 21 June 2010 |  8 comments |
SQL Server's UPDATE statement is apparently simple, but complications such as the FROM clause can cause puzzlement. Bob Sheldon starts simply, and introduces the more complex forms painlessly. Read more...
Hima Bindu Vejella Book Review: The Art of XSD - SQL Server XML schemas
by Hima Bindu Vejella | 10 June 2010 |  6 comments |
The 14 chapters of "The Art of XSD”, written by MVP Jacob Sebastian, will take the reader step-by–step all the way from the basics of XML Schema design all the way to advanced topics on SQL Server XML Schema Collections. Reviewer Hima Bindu Vejella gives it an 8/10... Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Showplan Operator of the Week - Lazy Spool
by Fabiano Amorim | 10 June 2010 |
Continuing to illuminate the depths of SQL Server's Query Optimizer, Fabiano shines a light on the sixth major Showplan Operator on his list: the Lazy Spool. What does the Lazy Spool do that's so special, how does the Query Optimizer use it, and why is it so Lazy?... Read more...
Jonathan Lewis Oracle to SQL Server: Crossing the Great Divide, Part 2
by Jonathan Lewis | 26 May 2010 |  5 comments |
A well-known Oracle expert records faithfully his struggles with the unfamiliar : SQL Server. He now sets himself the task of creating a table with a million rows of random data. As one might expect, it is the lack of familiarity with the workarounds and tricks... Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Operator of the Week - Spools, Eager Spool
by Fabiano Amorim | 20 May 2010 |  10 comments |
For the fifth part of Fabiano's mission to describe the major Showplan Operators used by SQL Server's Query Optimiser, he introduces the spool operators and particularly the Eager Spool, explains blocking and non-blocking and then describes how the Halloween... Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Showplan Operator of the Week - BookMark/Key Lookup
by Fabiano Amorim | 07 May 2010 |  5 comments |
Fabiano continues in his mission to describe the major Showplan Operators used by SQL Server's Query Optimiser. This week he meets a star, the Key Lookup, a stalwart performer, but most famous for its role in ill-performing queries where an index does not 'cover'... Read more...
Jonathan Lewis Oracle to SQL Server: Crossing the Great Divide, Part 1
by Jonathan Lewis | 28 April 2010 |  34 comments |
When a SQL expert moves from Oracle to SQL Server, he can spot obvious strengths and weaknesses in the product that are too familiar to be apparent to the SQL Server DBA. Jonathan Lewis is one such expert: In this article he records his train of thought whilst... Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Showplan Operator of the Week - Compute Scalar
by Fabiano Amorim | 28 April 2010 |  1 comment |
The third part of Fabiano's mission to describe the major Showplan Operators used by SQL Server's Query Optimiser continues with the 'Compute Scalar' operator. Fabiano shows how a tweak to SQL to avoid a 'Compute Scalar' step can improve its performance. Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Showplan Operator of the Week - Concatenation
by Fabiano Amorim | 22 April 2010 |
Fabiano continues in his mission to describe, one week at a time, all the major Showplan Operators used by SQL Server's Query Optimiser to build the Query Plan. This week he gets the Concatenation operator . Read more...
Fabiano Amorim Showplan Operator of the week - Assert
by Fabiano Amorim | 14 April 2010 |
As part of his mission to explain the Query Optimiser in practical terms, Fabiano attempts the feat of describing, one week at a time, all the major Showplan Operators used by SQL Server's Query Optimiser to build the Query Plan. He starts with Assert Read more...
Robert Sheldon Managing Transaction Logs in SQL Server
by Robert Sheldon | 12 November 2009 |  12 comments |
The Transaction Log provides the means by which either the complete set of tasks of a database transaction are performed or none of them are. It ensures that , via rollback, only valid data is written out to the database, and it allows transactions to be played... Read more...
Pinal Dave Introduction to Change Data Capture (CDC) in SQL Server 2008
by Pinal Dave | 03 August 2009 |  35 comments |
Change Data Capture records INSERTs, UPDATEs, and DELETEs applied to SQL Server tables, and makes a record available of what changed, where, and when, in simple relational 'change tables' rather than in an esoteric chopped salad of XML. These change tables contain... Read more...
Jacob Sebastian An Introduction to SQL Server FileStream
by Jacob Sebastian | 03 August 2009 |  29 comments |
Filestream allows us to store and manage unstructured datain SQL Server more easily. Initially, the accounts of FILESTREAM assumed prodigious powers of concentration and cognition, and we mortals all recoiled numbly. However, it became clear that we were missing out... Read more...
Robert Sheldon Using the FOR XML Clause to Return Query Results as XML
by Robert Sheldon | 27 May 2009 |  23 comments |
The FOR XML clause in SQL Server causes a lot of difficulty, mainly because it is rather poorly explained in Books-on-Line. We challenged Bob Sheldon to make it seem simple. Here is his sublime response. Read more...
Jacob Sebastian Introduction to XML Schema
by Jacob Sebastian | 07 May 2009 |  4 comments |
What is an XML Schema, and why is it important? How did XSD develop from its precursors, DTD and XDR? What is XML capable of in the recent versions of SQL Server? Jacob Sebastian gives a succinct answer in this extract from his new book. Read more...
Joe Celko SQL and the Snare of Three-Valued Logic
by Joe Celko | 07 May 2009 |  10 comments |
The whole subject of the Three-Valued (also known as ternary, trivalent or 3VL) Logic of SQL tends to trip people up. This is hardly surprising in view of the fact that it involves an esoteric Polish mathematician and because it behaves differently in the DDL (Data... Read more...
Anith Sen Facts and Fallacies about First Normal Form
by Anith Sen | 07 May 2009 |  25 comments |
When discussing the normalisation process, it is always the First Normal Form that causes the most grief and confusion. Anith Sen takes up the challenge to explain, in simple terms, exactly what the First Normal Form really is, and why it is so important for... Read more...
Chris Massey Free eBook: SQL Server Crib-Sheet Compendium
by Chris Massey | 24 April 2009 |  4 comments |
For everything you need to know, rather than want to know, about SQL Server Reporting Services, replication, backup, XML, performance, data warehousing and more.. Read more...
Robert Sheldon Full-Text Indexing Workbench
by Robert Sheldon | 02 February 2009 |  3 comments |
Robert Sheldon continues his guide to Full-Text Indexing, by putting down his pen and reaching for SSMS for a practical workbench on Full-Text indexing. There is nothing like trying things out to make ideas click. Read more...
Robert Sheldon Understanding Full-Text Indexing in SQL Server
by Robert Sheldon | 29 December 2008 |  12 comments |
Microsoft has quietly been improving full-text indexing in SQL Server. It is time to take a good look at what it offers. Who better to give us that look than Robert Sheldon, in the first of a series. Read more...
Brad McGehee SQL Server 2008: Performance Data Collector
by Brad McGehee | 29 December 2008 |  8 comments |
With Performance Data Collector in SQL Server 2008, you can now store performance data from a number of SQL Servers in one central location. This data is collected by a collection set on each server and stored in a shareable management data warehouse (MDW). Reports... Read more...
Robert Sheldon SQL Server Index Basics
by Robert Sheldon | 25 November 2008 |  39 comments |
Given the fundamental importance of indexes in databases, it always comes as a surprise how often the proper design of indexes is neglected. It often turns out that the programmer understands detail, but not the broad picture of what indexes do. Bob Sheldon comes to... Read more...
Robert Sheldon SQL Server Data Warehouse Cribsheet
by Robert Sheldon | 03 November 2008 |  8 comments |
It is time to shed light on Data Warehousing and to explain how SSAS, SSRS and Business Intelligence fit into the puzzle. Who better to explain it all then Robert Sheldon. Read more...
Susan Conway GIS and SQL Server 2008: Making Maps with your Data
by Susan Conway | 18 October 2008 |  10 comments |
When Microsoft introduced GIS into SQL Server with SQL Server 2008, it opened up a whole range of new applications that were previously impossible to do with SQL Server. So what sort of things can you do with GIS Data? We asked an expert! Read more...
Brad McGehee SQL Server 2008: The New Data Types
by Brad McGehee | 11 October 2008 |  11 comments |
Brad continues his helicopter-level view of the most interesting new features of SQL Server 2008 with a look at the new data types, their use and their significance. Read more...
Joe Webb Using Covering Indexes to Improve Query Performance
by Joe Webb | 29 September 2008 |  9 comments |
Designers of database systems will often assume that the use of a clustered index is always the best approach. However the nonclustered Covering index will usually provide the optimum performance of a query. Read more...
Robyn Page and Phil Factor Database Design Workbench - Keys
by Robyn Page and Phil Factor | 19 September 2008 |  6 comments |
Robyn Page and Phil Factor explore the innocent subject of Keys for their latest workbench. Everybody knows about keys. Oh yeah? Phil Factor ends up muting the immutable out of sheer devilry, and we learn how silly the British Secret Service were to tag James Bond... Read more...
Brad McGehee Management Studio Improvements in SQL Server 2008
by Brad McGehee | 14 August 2008 |  41 comments |
Not everybody who had to use Management Studio when it first appeared in SQL Server 2005 liked it. The paint was still wet and there was still scaffolding around. To give Microsoft its' credit, it has succeeded in transforming it into a much more useful product, in... Read more...
Brad McGehee How to Track Down Deadlocks Using SQL Server 2005 Profiler
by Brad McGehee | 20 June 2008 |  29 comments |
It is irritating, sometimes alarming, for the user to be confronted by the 'deadlock message' when a deadlock happens. It can be a tiresome business to prevent them from occurring in applications. Fortunately, the profiler can be used to help DBAs identify how... Read more...
Hugh Bin-Haad. The Concept of Cardinal Reciprocity- A Primer
by Hugh Bin-Haad. | 01 April 2008 |  25 comments |
Too many authors in the field of relational theory have neglected the concept of Cardinal Reciprocity. This can cause a number of subtle problems with database design in terms of its derivability, redundancy, and consistency. . Increasingly, this little-understood... Read more...
Adam Machanic Service Broker Advanced Basics Workbench
by Adam Machanic | 15 October 2007 |  4 comments |
SQL Service Broker, an asynchronous queuing and messaging system for SQL Server 2005, is set to change the way we design and run distributed applications. Adam Machanic once more makes it all seem so easy in Part 2 of his epic series... Read more...
Adam Machanic Service Broker Foundations Workbench
by Adam Machanic | 14 August 2007 |  21 comments |
SQL Service Broker, an asynchronous queuing and messaging system for SQL Server 2005, is set to change the way we design and run distributed applications. Adam Machanic makes it all seem so easy... Read more...
Regular Columnists Short Articles
by Regular Columnists | 27 April 2007 |  1 comment |
A collection of shorter articles by some of our regular Simple-Talk columnists, this week featuring Simon Sabin, Greg Larsen on CLR vs. T-SQL and Eric Brown on Dynamic management Views. Read more...
Greg Larsen Choosing between CLR and T-SQL stored procedures: a simple benchmark
by Greg Larsen | 24 April 2007 |  2 comments |
In this short article, Greg Larsen performance benchmarks alternative CLR-based and T-SQL stored procedure solutions for retrieving operating system file information. He also assesses other factors to be considered when choosing the correct implementation for your... Read more...
Robyn Page SQL Server XML Cribsheet
by Robyn Page | 29 March 2007 |  8 comments |
If you're like me and find XML a bit of an acronym minefield, Robyn Page's Cribsheet will help sort out your XSLT from your XDM. Read more...
Robyn Page Robyn Page's SQL Server Cursor Workbench
by Robyn Page | 24 January 2007 |  52 comments |
The topic of cursors is the ultimate "hot potato" in the world of SQL Server. Everyone has a view on when they should and mainly should not be used. By example and testing Robyn Page proves that, when handled with care, cursors are not necessarily a "bad thing".... Read more...
Greg Larsen Building my First SQL Server 2005 CLR
by Greg Larsen | 06 December 2006 |  16 comments |
Greg Larsen provides a step-by-step tour of the hurdles he had to jump in building and deploying his first serious CLR stored procedure. Read more...
Robyn Page Robyn Page's SQL Server Data Validation Workbench
by Robyn Page | 23 October 2006 |  15 comments |
Robyn Page provides essential techniques for ensuring the validity of the data being entered into your SQL Server tables. Read more...
Robyn Page Robyn Page's SQL Server String Manipulation Workbench
by Robyn Page | 19 September 2006 |  25 comments |
String searching and manipulation in SQL Server can be error-prone and tedious...unless you're armed with the techniques described in Robyn's string manipulation workbench... Read more...
Pop Rivett Pop Rivett's SQL Server FAQ
by Pop Rivett | 18 September 2006 |  10 comments |
Pop Rivett dispenses pearls of SQL Server wisdom, this time tackling the setting of variables from dynamic SQL. Bah, humbug. Read more...
Robyn Page Robyn Page's SQL Server DATE/TIME Workbench
by Robyn Page | 16 August 2006 |  58 comments |
In this workbench, Robyn Page provides a gentle introduction to the use of dates in SQL Server. In this new version of her article, it is brought up to date with the newer Datetime features in SQL Server 2005 and 2008. Read more...
Hilary Cotter SQL Server Full Text Search Language Features, Part 2
by Hilary Cotter | 04 July 2006 |  19 comments |
Extensive coverage of the query-time behaviour of SQL Server Full-text search, demonstrating how searches are expanded by the parser before hitting the full-text index. Read more...
Douglas Reilly SQL Server and .NET training and career development Part 3
by Douglas Reilly | 07 June 2006 |  4 comments |
How do you keep your skills current? How will you prepare yourself for what you will be doing 5 years from now? In this article, part III of the series, I discuss books and the role they can play in keeping the developer up to date. Read more...
Hilary Cotter SQL Server Full Text Search Language Features
by Hilary Cotter | 21 April 2006 |  50 comments |
SQL Full-text Search (SQL FTS) is an optional component of SQL Server 7 and later, which allows fast and efficient querying when you have large amounts of unstructured data. Read more...
Douglas Reilly SQL Server and .NET Training and Career Development (part 2)
by Douglas Reilly | 22 March 2006 |  7 comments |
In Part I of this series, I discussed the role and value of conferences in the career development of SQL Server and .NET developers. In this article, I move on to discuss online technical forums, focusing on what to do before you post on a newsgroup or forum in... Read more...
Douglas Reilly SQL Server and .NET Training and Career Development
by Douglas Reilly | 24 February 2006 |  6 comments |
A number of years ago, I wrote a blog entry entitled “Who is Responsible for your Career?“. It was perhaps the second most popular post I ever wrote (judging by reads and referrals), and it generated a large number of comments and other blog entries, both pro and con. Read more...
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Phil Factor
Automated Script-generation with Powershell and SMO
 In the first of a series of articles on automating the process of building, modifying and copying SQL Server... Read more...



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Tony Davis To Not CI to Eye
 Many developers, including Troy Hunt, here on Simple-Talk, have argued persuasively that each database developer in...  Read more...


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Beginning SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Part 1
 Steve Joubert begins an in-depth tour of SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services with a step-by-step guide... Read more...

Ten Common Database Design Mistakes
 Database design and implementation is the cornerstone of any data centric project (read 99.9% of... Read more...

Reading and Writing Files in SQL Server using T-SQL
 SQL Server provides several "standard" techniques by which to read and write to files but, just... Read more...

Beginning SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Part 2
 Continuing his in-depth tour of SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services, Steve Joubert demonstrates the most... Read more...

Creating CSV Files Using BCP and Stored Procedures
 Nigel Rivett demonstrates some core techniques for extracting SQL Server data into CSV files, focussing... Read more...

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