Experiments with NEO4J: Using a graph database as a SQL Server metadata hub

NEO4J, the graph database, can be used to provide answers that are very tricky for relational databases, including providing diagrams...

17 June 2014 18 min read

Jonathan Lewis

Execution Plans Part 6: Pushed Subqueries

In part 5 of this series we examined a couple of examples where you had to handle the “first child...

16 June 2014 10 min read

David Njoku

Oracle for Absolute Beginners: Part 7 – Creating Tables, Constraints and Triggers

A wise man once said: start at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop....

10 June 2014 9 min read

Joe Celko

The SQL of The Game of Life

Joe finds a reference to Conway's Game of Life whilst clearing out his desk, and is suddenly gripped with nostalgia....

05 June 2014 7 min read

Kalen Delaney

Row Versioning Concurrency in SQL Server

The optimistic concurrency model assumes that several concurrent transactions can usually complete without interfering with each other, and therefore do...

05 June 2014 44 min read

Phil Factor

On Comparing Tables in SQL Server

How do you compare two SQL tables? Every SQL Developer or DBA knows the answer, which is 'it depends'. It...

29 May 2014 20 min read

Jonathan Lewis

Execution Plans part 5: First Child Variations

I’ve offered up “first child first, recursive descent” as a basic strategy for interpreting execution plans – but it’s not...

28 May 2014 14 min read

Saurabh Dhoble

Setting Up Your SQL Server Agent Correctly

It is important to set up SQL Server Agent Security on the principles of 'executing with minimum privileges', and ensure...

28 May 2014 15 min read

Randolf Geist

Parallel Execution Skew – 12c Hybrid Hash Distribution With Skew Detection

Since Parallel Execution Skew is a common problem that can severely limit the scalability of Parallel Execution (see my previous...

19 May 2014 9 min read

Robert Sheldon

TSQL User-Defined Functions: Ten Questions You Were Too Shy To Ask

SQL Server User-Defined Functions are good to use in most circumstances, but there just a few questions that rarely get...

19 May 2014 31 min read

Joshua Feierman

On Adopting the Mindset of an Enterprise DBA

Although many of the important tasks a DBA has to perform should be done 'by hand', keying in commands or...

19 May 2014 11 min read

Jonathan Lewis

Execution Plans Part 4: Precision and Timing

In part 3 of this series we used a simple hash join to introduce the a simple guideline for reading...

14 May 2014 12 min read

Database Administration

Tony Davis in Database Administration

Optimizing Transaction Log Throughput

As a DBA, it is vital to manage transaction log growth explicitly, rather than let SQL Server auto-growth events "manage"...

08 May 2014 35 min read

David Njoku

Oracle for Absolute Beginners: Part 6 – Procedures and Functions

A wise man once said, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. If...

07 May 2014 13 min read

T-SQL Programming

Phil Factor in T-SQL Programming

SQL Server FOR JSON: Produce JSON from T-SQL Queries (Flat and Nested)

Learn how to produce JSON from SQL Server queries using FOR JSON PATH, FOR JSON AUTO, and custom T-SQL techniques...

06 May 2014 33 min read

Houri

SPM Plan: non reproducibility circumstances and CBO interaction

1. Introduction When a critical report which used to complete very quickly starts performing poorly, there is a big chance...

01 May 2014 17 min read

Dwain Camps

The Performance of Traversing a SQL Hierarchy

Dwain Camps show that, depending on the size and characteristics of some hierarchical data, six different methods of traversal can...

28 April 2014 16 min read

Jonathan Lewis

Execution Plans Part 3: “The Rule”

In the first two articles in this series we listed a couple of methods for generating or retrieving execution plans...

25 April 2014 13 min read

Kathi Kellenberger

SQL Server Reporting Services Basics: Building SSRS Reports

SQL Server Reporting Services is one of the most popular components of SQL Server, but it has always been surprisingly...

25 April 2014 27 min read

Kevin Feasel

SQL Injection: How it Works and How to Thwart it

This article is an extract from the book Tribal SQL. In this article, Kevin Feasel explains SQL injection attacks, how...

24 April 2014 33 min read

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Databases

Experiments with NEO4J: Using a graph database as a SQL Server metadata hub

Execution Plans Part 6: Pushed Subqueries

Oracle for Absolute Beginners: Part 7 – Creating Tables, Constraints and Triggers

The SQL of The Game of Life

Row Versioning Concurrency in SQL Server

On Comparing Tables in SQL Server

Execution Plans part 5: First Child Variations

Setting Up Your SQL Server Agent Correctly

Parallel Execution Skew – 12c Hybrid Hash Distribution With Skew Detection

TSQL User-Defined Functions: Ten Questions You Were Too Shy To Ask

On Adopting the Mindset of an Enterprise DBA

Execution Plans Part 4: Precision and Timing

Optimizing Transaction Log Throughput

Oracle for Absolute Beginners: Part 6 – Procedures and Functions

SQL Server FOR JSON: Produce JSON from T-SQL Queries (Flat and Nested)

SPM Plan: non reproducibility circumstances and CBO interaction

The Performance of Traversing a SQL Hierarchy

Execution Plans Part 3: “The Rule”

SQL Server Reporting Services Basics: Building SSRS Reports

SQL Injection: How it Works and How to Thwart it