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)
50,955 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)
8,983 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)
18,836 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)
45,624 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)
168,364 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)
39,217 reads
The Case for Scalar-valued, User-defined Functions in T-SQL
Did you know that scalar-valued, user-defined functions can be used in DEFAULT/CHECK CONSTRAINTs and computed columns? Learn about it...
2015-05-12
7,269 reads
A Hazard of Using the SQL Update Statement
If you've never encountered this quirk of the SQL UPDATE statement, you should take a look and find a simple way around it.
2015-04-06 (first published: 2013-09-09)
27,752 reads
Identifying Start Dates not Aligned with End Dates on a Prior Row
When effective end dates don't align properly with effective start dates for subsequent rows, what are you to do?
2015-03-24
10,588 reads
How to Design, Build and Test a Dynamic Search Stored Procedure
Learn how to design, build and test a dynamic search SP in just a few simple but methodical steps.
2015-03-06 (first published: 2013-11-05)
24,989 reads
Blogs
Rolling Back a Broken Release
By Steve Jones
We had an interesting discussion about deployments in databases and how you go forward...
A bespoke reporting solution doesn’t have to cost the earth
By ChrisJenkins
You could be tolerating limited reporting because there isn’t an off the shelf solution...
Presenting with Visual Studio Code
A while back I wrote a quick post on setting up key mappings in...
Forums
Cross-DB Ownership Chaining problem
We want to setup a gateway db to host stored procedures which use tables...
Lots of FKs
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Lots of FKs
Real-time On-prem SQL Server Data in Excel – Over the Internet
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Real-time On-prem SQL Server Data...
Question of the Day
Lots of FKs
In SQL Server 2025, what are the most outgoing and incoming FK references a table can have?
See possible answers