The job of retrieving data from Excel, and importing it into SQL Server hasn't the same appeal or glamour as, for example, performing heroics with ill-performing queries. This could be why one hesitates before asking questions about how to do it. Rob Sheldon calms your private doubts and fears by answering those embarrassing questions.… Read more
Nobody seems to ask questions about SQL Expressions in forums, even though expressions can cause all sorts of problems. Even the books on T-SQL skate over them in haste to get to more complicated topics. It is time for frank, straight-forward Q&A, and who better than Robert Sheldon to give the A?… Read more
Although SQL Data Types seem to cause a lot of grief for database developers and can be tricky in their use, we seem to be expected to know all about them, and so it is embarrassing to ask questions about them in forums. Rob Sheldon continues in his mission to answer all those questions that we hesitate to ask.… Read more
There are some aspects of tables in SQL Server that a lot of people get wrong, purely because they seem so obvious that one feels embarrassed about asking questions. Robert Sheldon reckons that no questions about SQL Tables are off-limits, and deserve frank answers. … Read more
SQL Server User-Defined Functions are good to use in most circumstances, but there just a few questions that rarely get asked on the forums. It is a shame, because the answers to them tend to clear up some ingrained misconceptions about functions that can lead to problems, particularly with locking and performanc… Read more
Sometimes, XML seems a bewildering convention that offers solutions to problems that the average database user doesn't have. To make things worse, XML experts generally lack the wherewithal to provide simple answers to even the simplest questions. Rob Sheldon, in contrast, can answer even those questions we somehow feel silly asking in public, and think twice about doing so.… Read more
One of the first things one needs to understand well about SQL Server is indexes, but somehow many of the basic questions don't often get asked or answered much on forums. Rob Sheldon answers some of these shy-making questions about SQL Server Indexes and indexing: the ones we somehow feel silly asking in public, and think twice about doing so.… Read more
If you need to optimise SQL Server performance, it pays to understand SQL Server Statistics. Grant Fritchey answers the 18 most frequently-asked questions about SQL Server Statistics: the ones we somehow feel silly asking in public, and think twice about doing so.… Read more
During presentations about doing database backups and restores, there seem to be two types of questions that are commonly asked - those that come from the floor during the presentation, and those that are asked in private afterwards. These are sometimes more interesting, and challenging to answer well.… Read more
