String searching and manipulation in SQL Server can be error-prone and tedious...unless you're armed with the techniques described in Robyn's string manipulation workbench...… Read more
To celebrate the seventh anniversary of Robyn Page's classic workbench, Phil brings it right up to date. What starts as a gentle introduction to the use of dates in SQL Server ends up with some unusual tricks in creating calendars and calculating Mardi Gras. … Read more
Extensive coverage of the query-time behaviour of SQL Server Full-text search, demonstrating how searches are expanded by the parser before hitting the full-text index.… Read more
How do you keep your skills current? How will you prepare yourself for what you will be doing 5 years from now? In this article, part III of the series, I discuss books and the role they can play in keeping the developer up to date.… 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