Last month saw the release of the SQL Bundle 5. Here, some key members of the Red Gate development team offer insight into some of the major new features, and the technical challenges they faced in implementing them.… Read more
When faced with two viable solutions to a badly compromised database design, one using clustered indexes and the other compound primary keys, Grant Fritchey took the only sensible route: he gathered hard performance data...… Read more
SQL Full-text Search (SQL FTS) is an optional component of SQL Server 7 and later, which allows fast and efficient querying when you have large amounts of unstructured data. … Read more
In Part I of this series, I discussed the role and value of conferences in the career development of SQL Server and .NET developers. In this article, I move on to discuss online technical forums, focusing on what to do before you post on a newsgroup or forum in order to derive maximum benefit from them, and avoid trying the patience and goodwill of the forum community.… Read more
A number of years ago, I wrote a blog entry entitled "Who is Responsible for your Career?". It was perhaps the second most popular post I ever wrote (judging by reads and referrals), and it generated a large number of comments and other blog entries, both pro and con. … Read more
Your application may require an index based on a lengthy string, or even worse, a concatenation of two strings, or of a string and one or two integers. In a small table, you might not notice the impact. But suppose the table of interest contains 50 million rows? Then you will notice the impact both in terms of storage requirements and search performance.… Read more
Like a Phoenix, the dynamic SQL versus canned procedures and user functions argument has resurfaced on the SQL newsgroups. Many of the proponents of the dynamic argument are web or Access developers, or developers of some other front end. Arthur takes another look at the argument.… Read more
Determining how you will upgrade your DTS packages to SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is the first step in creating a DTS-to-SSIS migration strategy.… Read more
Low-cost software is almost always a better solution, but if you must purchase the high-cost stuff, don't get caught with blood in the water. … Read more
This article discusses three common problems DBAs are likely to encounter when columns have an identity property that will auto-increment its value when data is inserted. These problems are humorously referred to as the identity crisis.
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Stored procedures are not the be-all and end-all of managing changes in a database, but they can be very important tools in allowing changes to be made to a database whilst not breaking client applications...… Read more
There have been a number of discussions about whether to use SPs or not, often shedding more heat than light, Doug Reilly takes a look at the debate.… Read more
How to justify the purchase of a new software development tool. You might believe the benefits are obvious, but others can easily view such a purchase as little short of indulgence. … Read more
Do you find indecision each time a purchase decision needs to be made, a requirements analysis can help you provide your boss with information to choose the right software development product.… Read more
Migrating database changes from the development database to the testing, staging, and live databases poses plenty of challenges. Learn why using an automated tool is the best way to deal with these challenges. … Read more
