We all know that dynamic SQL runs in its own scope (see here for details), and that if used improperly it can have serious security implications.  But it's also important to realize that dynamic SQL evaluates your SQL statements more like a stored procedure than a regular script.  In stored procedures, if the tables you reference ...

Ask about nearly any kind of SQL-based date calculation in the newsgroups, and you'll likely get responses that include use of an auxiliary calendar table.  It's a really good idea, and something I highly recommend to anyone who has to do date-based calculations on the server.  For those who do dimensional modeling, you'll probably ...

Back in January 2007, SQL guru Itzik Ben-Gan posted a series of MS Connect enhancement requests concerning windowing function enhancements.  Those who have used the ROW_NUMBER(), RANK(), DENSE_RANK(), and NTILE() functions on SQL 2005 and 2008, you already know how useful they are.  They simplify code and can improve performance ...