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• Time to Start Plotting My 2016 Database Design Book

  Note: A new version has been talked about for years, but it is not a guarantee. This post is my way of introducing the new features of SQL Server, and follow on posts will be code filled example of how the features will work. I am making no promises at Read More... Posted Tuesday, June 16, 2015 7:54 PM by drsql | 4 Comments Filed under: Database Design, hierarchies, T-SQL, Writing

• Off to Richmond for SQL Saturday

  I got the email prodding speakers to blog about our upcoming sessions, so I got myself up and started to write this blog. It has been such a long time since I have done much side SQL work (other than doing quite a bit of tech editing, along with doing Read More... Posted Friday, March 13, 2015 6:12 PM by drsql | 0 Comments Filed under: Database Design, Speaking, SQL Saturday, SQL Server, T-SQL, User's Group

• Speaking this weekend at SQL Saturday 277 - Richmond

  One of my favorite locations to speak or attend is when Richmond has a SQL Saturday . (though if you are an organizer of another SQL Saturday's I have submitted to, note that I said "one of my favorites" :)). This will be the third time I go to Richmond. Read More... Posted Wednesday, March 19, 2014 1:50 PM by drsql | 2 Comments Filed under: Speaking, SQL Saturday, SQLPASS, Triggers, T-SQL

• Relational Database Design Pre-Con at PASS

  Well, here we go again. I am making my final preparations again for my "How to Design a Relational Database" pre-conference seminar coming up at PASS. If you want to know what the "official" abstract is, you can find it here and if you are already convinced Read More... Posted Monday, September 09, 2013 8:21 PM by drsql | 1 Comments Filed under: Database Design, Design, PreCon, SQLPASS, T-SQL

• Why We Write #4 - An Interview With Doug Lane

  My next guest is Doug Lane , who has been blogging for the past few years on his website: http://www.douglane.net/ . Doug is also a speaker who has spoken at SQL Saturdays as well as the SQL PASS Summit , and as I write these interview questions was on Read More... Posted Tuesday, April 23, 2013 10:56 PM by drsql | 2 Comments Filed under: SQLPASS, T-SQL, Why We Write, Writing

• One more reason to to understand query plans, not directly performance related

  One of the things that separates a good programmer from a great one is a firm understanding about what is going on inside the computer. For some programming languages, it is very obvious what is going on inside the computer because you are working at Read More... Posted Tuesday, January 22, 2013 11:28 PM by drsql | 7 Comments Filed under: Development, Performance, T-SQL

• Utility Queries–Structure of Tables with Identity Column

  Edit: At the suggestion of a much knowledgable commenter who shall remain named Aaron, I changed from using schema_name() function to using sys.tables. When writing code that is expected to have reuse, it can be safer to use the tables rather than functions Read More... Posted Sunday, September 02, 2012 4:05 PM by drsql | 6 Comments Filed under: Development, SQL Tools, T-SQL, Utility

• Speaking at PASS 2012… Exciting and Scary… As usual…

  Edit: As I reread this, I felt I should clarify.. As usual refers mostly to the "Scary" part. I have a lot of stage fright that I have to work through. And it is always exciting to be picked. I have been selected this year at the PASS Summit 2012 to do Read More... Posted Saturday, June 23, 2012 7:03 PM by drsql | 1 Comments Filed under: MVP, PASS, Speaking, SQLPASS, T-SQL

• Utility Queries–Column Metadata

  Very often, I find myself wanting to query system metadata for columns. Some of the metadata is fairly easy to deal with, like if you want to find column names, just simply querying sys.columns is very straightforward. But if you want to query data types, Read More... Posted Sunday, April 22, 2012 11:57 PM by drsql | 0 Comments Filed under: Catalog Objects, Constraints, T-SQL, Utility

• Planning my Louisville SQL Saturday Presentation

  So it is Tuesday night, just a few days until my presentation entitled What Counts For A DBA and I am still not completely sure exactly what is going to go on. In fact, I don’t exactly plan to know what is going on until the presentation is over.  Read More... Posted Tuesday, October 25, 2011 10:47 PM by drsql | 0 Comments Filed under: Speaking, T-SQL

• Denali Enhancement–Duplicate Key Error Message

  When I was editing my chapter on implementing a database, I noticed a really nice improvement in the error message I had from the previous edition of the book. Instead of just telling me that there was a value in my modification statement that duplicated Read More... Posted Thursday, July 14, 2011 1:12 AM by drsql | 6 Comments Filed under: Constraints, Denali, T-SQL

• disallow results from triggers

  A setting that I noticed a while back when looking at sys.configurations was disallow results from triggers.   Triggers are one of my favorite subjects, and you will find a lot of good uses of them in my book (triggers are also well named, as poor Read More... Posted Saturday, June 06, 2009 10:38 PM by drsql | 1 Comments Filed under: Best Practices, Development, SQL Techniques, Tips, T-SQL

• Granting rights to all objects in a database

  File this under the “I can’t believe there is still stuff that I keep learning about SQL Server 2005!” though thankfully most things I find I learn are things I wouldn’t be all that likely to use. I was asked today how I felt about using the syntax: GRANT Read More... Posted Friday, March 13, 2009 12:38 AM by drsql | 8 Comments Filed under: Security, Tips, T-SQL

• 2008: Declaring and instantiating a value

  Ok, I admit it. Sometimes the least important things are the most fun. As I try to get my blog back up and kicking again after a few months of holiday fun coupled with some dreary personal life things (a death in the family and lots of sickness/busyness, Read More... Posted Saturday, March 01, 2008 7:40 PM by drsql | 16 Comments Filed under: SQL Server, T-SQL

• 2008: Rebuilding a Heap

  In 2005, rebuilding a table that was a heap (no clustered index) wasn't easy. You could copy it to a different table, or you could add a clustered index and then drop it. In 2008, this is a far easier thing to do. They have added to the ALTER TABLE command Read More... Posted Tuesday, February 26, 2008 11:10 PM by drsql | 7 Comments Filed under: Dynamic Management Objects, SQL Server, T-SQL