How to ask for programming help

Over the past 25 years, I have answered a lot of programming questions in online forums, from co-workers, and from friends. It has been a while since I had been around forums, but I recently decided it was time to get back to what started me in the SQL community: answering questions. Not only is it complementary to my current job as Simple-Talk editor, it is really a great joy to be able to help other people with their problems. It is also educational to see the kinds of things other people are going through before you also go through them.

Stored Procedure in SQL Server with R Code

In this article we will explore how to create custom stored procedures using R which is basically an R function that can be called from a SQL Server stored procedure.

Soundex - Experiments with SQL CLR

Using test driven development to turbocharge Soundex

Python for the SQL Server DBA

Python is increasingly used by DBAs as a general-purpose scripting language, despite the pressure to adopt Microsoft's PowerShell. They find it easy to learn, powerful, and reasonably intuitive. Here Timothy Wiseman, a working DBA, explains the attraction of Python and gives a general introduction to the language, suitable for anyone who has been wondering whether to give it a try.

Data Types

Writing Dynamic Stored Procedure

In this article I have shown a way of writing queries in which WHERE clause of the query is executed dynamically depending on values of input parameters.

SQL Server 2008 Developer Training Kit

The SQL Server 2008 Developer Training Kit will help you understand how to build web applications which deeply exploit the rich data types, programming models and new development paradigms in SQL Server 2008.

Accessing SQL Server Databases with PHP

This paper discusses how to use several of these features by closely examining parts of the Example Application in the SQL Server 2005 Driver for PHP product documentation in MSDN. This paper assumes that the reader is familiar with programming in PHP, that the reader has a computer that meets the System Requirements listed for using the driver, and that the AdventureWorks example database is installed from CodePlex.

File Handling A Different Way

A different way for file handling through SQL Server.

Accessing Data from a Mobile Application

Data access is an important aspect of developing applications with the Microsoft® .NET Compact Framework for Windows Mobile® devices. By using the existing architecture to send and receive data between your mobile application and your application server, you can pass data with either DataSets, custom objects, or scalar values.