Improving Performance for Some LIKE “%string%” Searches (SQL Spackle)
If you've ever wondered if you can do better than an INDEX SCAN when you do a LIKE "%string%" search, read on...
2024-11-29 (first published: 2014-04-07)
50,918 reads
Dwain Camps
The Right and Wrong of T-SQL DML TRIGGERs (SQL Spackle)
Triggers in T-SQL have many uses. There are right and wrong ways to write triggers. To learn the difference, read on...
2024-11-15 (first published: 2015-03-17)
8,972 reads
Calculating Elapsed Times (SQL Spackle)
Calculating elapsed time between time values can be an interesting problem that is easily solved even when data anomalies are present.
2024-09-20 (first published: 2013-09-26)
18,830 reads
An Alternative (Better?) Method to UNPIVOT (SQL Spackle)
Normalizing or UNPIVOTing data may be improved by using this lesser known approach in SQL Server 2008 or later.
2024-07-26 (first published: 2012-08-02)
45,589 reads
Performance of the SQL MERGE vs. INSERT/UPDATE
The SQL MERGE statement offers convenience, safety and elegance, but how does it perform compared to other methods?
2017-02-03 (first published: 2013-10-28)
168,154 reads
Logging and Error Handling for SQL Stored Procedures
Learn how to develop and test a template for logging and error handling in a multi-step SQL stored procedure
2015-09-18 (first published: 2014-01-20)
39,191 reads
The Fastest Way to Combine DATE and TIME Data Types to a DATETIME
Recently while working with a table where there were two columns, one a DATE datatype and a second TIME datatype,...
2015-09-08 (first published: 2015-08-28)
81,429 reads
High Performance T-SQL using Code Patterns
What exactly does this mean? We’ve heard of “code patterns” in other programming languages, but what does it mean to...
2015-06-04 (first published: 2015-05-27)
9,280 reads
The Best Tool for Comparing Whether Two T-SQL Queries Produce Identical Results
There is one software tool that should be in every software developer’s tool chest. That is knowledge of the platform...
2015-05-26 (first published: 2015-05-21)
7,618 reads
Excel in T-SQL Part 2 – The Normal Distribution (NORM.DIST) Density Functions
Today’s blog will be the second in a multi-part series on replicating Excel functions in T-SQL, continuing with Excel’s NORM.DIST...
2015-05-14
10,777 reads
Blogs
Webinar: Navigating the Database Landscape in 2026
By Steve Jones
For a number of years, we’ve produced the State of the Database Landscape report,...
Claude AI Convinced Me Not to Build an iPad App
By Steve Jones
I coach volleyball and I do a lot of stat stuff on paper. I...
A New Word: Dolorblindness
By Steve Jones
dolorblindness – n. the frustration that you’ll never be able to understand another person’s...
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Question of the Day
What's the Date?
In SQL Server 2025, there is a new function that returns the current date without the time. What is it?
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