SQL Change Automation

Solving Visual Studio database delivery problems with SQL Change Automation

For .NET developers working with Visual Studio (VS), the introduction of Database Projects with SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) brought to VS the ability to manage changes to the database schema and code objects, just like any other type of application code. An added advantage is that the declarative style of SSDT’s project files lends itself Read more

SQL Monitor

How to accelerate your SQL Server performance using SQL Monitor

I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time as a racing driver, racing BMWs for three years before joining the BRSCC Porsche Championship. Steve McQueen famously said ‘Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting’. When I’m waiting, I’m a SQL Server DBA consultant and throughout my racing and DBA career, I’ve realised Read more

Comparing SQL Server Databases using DacPacs and SQL Compare

How to compare SQL databases using DACPACs, script out differences and then run a database deployment task to synchronize the schema of the target database. Read more

Cleaning up common T-SQL coding issues with SQL Prompt

Some SQL coding habits are just annoying. Commas in front of column names? No way! Others are actively harmful; they’ll make your code error prone, harder for others to read and understand, and even harder to edit without making mistakes. This article covers five harmful problems that I see regularly in T-SQL code, and shows Read more

SQL Deployment Automation using SQL Compare Command Line

SQL Compare provides a command line interface (CLI) for running database schema comparisons and generating a deployment script, as part of a scripted process. I'll demonstrate how to do this with a 1-click process, using a batch (.bat) file. Read more

Quick SQL Prompt tip – using the ii snippet

SQL Prompt includes a number of snippets by default that can help you quickly write T-SQL code. These are templates of code that users use regularly. One of the more popular snippets is the “ii” snippet that helps with inserting data into a table. If I type “ii” and hit tab, I quickly get the Read more

Versioning an existing database using SQL Source Control

How to bring an existing database under Git version control. Read more

How to format a set of SQL scripts using SQL Prompt

Any database developer or DBA who spends much of their working week staring at SQL code quickly becomes set in their ways. They like to see the code laid out in a very particular way. They will struggle to look at, let alone digest and understand, code formatted in a ‘foreign’ style. It’s also rare Read more

How to create a directory of object-level scripts using SQL Compare

How to create a directory of object-level scripts from an existing database using SQL Compare GUI or command line. Read more

Quick SQL Prompt tip – why you should expand the wildcard

One of the great things about SQL Prompt is that it quickly removes the need to use so many keystrokes. That’s helpful and handy, but to become a really efficient T-SQL coder, you’ll want to practice incorporating a few tricks into your routine. Here’s a good one. Often I run into tables and can’t remember Read more

OVERVIEW

BY NEED

BY ROLE

BY INDUSTRY

Product articles