Should you always use EXISTS rather than COUNT when checking for the existence of any correlating rows that match your criteria? Does the former really offer "superior performance and readability". Louis Davidson investigates. Read more
Tony Davis reviews the major new features of SQL Prompt 10, included improved 'ranking' of its code auto-completion suggestions, tab history improvements to make it easier to find 'lost' code, and auto-fixing of code that breaks code analysis rules. Read more
There is an old joke that upgrading to the latest SQL Server is wasted on some DBAs, because they will still stick mainly to what worked in SQL Server 2005. This type of DBA is becoming rare, in my experience, but there is still some truth in the idea that many of us don’t get Read more
Phil Factor demonstrates the correct use of the RETURN keyword in stored procedures or batches, to pass back a non-zero RETURN code to the calling process, informing it of the error. He also explains some of its misuses. Read more
Phil Factor explains the problems you might encounter when adding a non-nullable column to an existing table or altering a column that contains NULL values to be non-nullable. He demos a migration script that can deploy such changes safely. You might also learn that in an archaic form of the Scots language, used in Cumberland, the number 17 is "tiny bumfit"; I think the tiny bumfit bus goes from Penrith to Carlisle. Read more
Phil Factor demonstrates why SQL Prompt has a 'Best Practice' rule (BP010) that checks for use of the @@IDENTITY function, and suggests less error-prone ways to get the latest identity values used in a table. Read more
Phil Factor illustrates the 'quirks' of the SQL_VARIANT datatype and why it's best to investigate when SQL Prompt alerts you to its use. It is only safe to store data as a SQL_VARIANT, if you explicitly convert it to its true type before you use it. Read more
The SQL Prompt Best Practice rule checks whether a comparison or expression includes a NULL literal ('NULL'), which in SQL Server, rather than result in an error, will simply always produce a NULL result. Phil Factor explains how to avoid this, and other SQL NULL-related calamities. Read more
Faris Hilmi presents the highlights of the latest SQL Prompt 9.5 release, including SSMS 18 and VS 2019 support, schema filtering for code completion suggestions, new code analysis auto-fixes and more. Read more