drsql@hotmail.com


SQLServerCentral Editorial

Software Flexibility (Avoiding the next hack)

As computer scientists, it often feels like our job is to tell the business user, "No, we can't do that because the software you asked for, and we built, doesn't allow it ..." Then, after a long and relatively silly meeting where your soul dies a little, the business user typically gets 80% of what […]

5 (2)

You rated this post out of 5. Change rating

2023-06-10

94 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

Empathetic Design

An old sport saying goes like this “I could beat them with one arm tied behind my back.” Well, after six weeks with my arm in a sling, I am in awe of whoever tries that because everything is a lot harder. Like washing your hand and then drying it, becomes more of a challenge […]

5 (1)

You rated this post out of 5. Change rating

2023-05-20

97 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

Review Early and Often

Several years ago, I was brought in on a project to review a database design. I was provided a time for a meeting. No written requirements were available, but I generally knew what the system was supposed to do. No before/after schema images showed what was being changed were available. Still, I was assured that […]

4.75 (4)

You rated this post out of 5. Change rating

2023-03-25

100 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

Consider Sharing Your Knowledge At User Groups and Conferences

The first time I spoke in front of a group of people over 20 years ago about a programming topic, I was scared to death. I could barely sleep the night before, obsessing about the material and practicing it repeatedly. When I finally did sleep, it felt like minutes before I awoke, and it was […]

You rated this post out of 5. Change rating

2023-02-25

76 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

Fear of "What If"

Fear and aging. Two of the things that most human beings have in common is that we are scared and getting older. Most of us we fear getting older, but that is a very different conversation altogether. I want to talk about the fear of what if. Today I have two things I am keenly […]

5 (2)

You rated this post out of 5. Change rating

2023-02-06 (first published: )

214 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

What Counts for a DBA: Skill

Practice makes perfect:” right? Well, not exactly. The reality of it all is that this saying is an untrustworthy aphorism. I discovered this in my “younger” days when I was a passionate tennis player, practicing and playing 20+ hours a week. No matter what my passion level was, without some serious coaching (and perhaps a […]

5 (1)

You rated this post out of 5. Change rating

2021-08-14

235 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

What Counts For a DBA: Ego

Leaving aside, for a second, Freud’s psychoanalytical definitions, the term “ego” generally refers to a person’s sense of self, and their self-esteem. In casual usage, however, it usually appears in the adjectival form, “egotistical” (most often followed by “jerk”). You don’t need to be a jerk to be a DBA; humility is important. However, ego is important […]

You rated this post out of 5. Change rating

2021-06-26

280 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

What counts for a DBA: Foresight

Of all the valuable attributes of a DBA, from passion to humility to practicality, perhaps one of the most important attributes may turn out to be the most seemingly nebulous: foresight. According to Free Dictionary, foresight is the "perception of the significance and nature of events before they have occurred". Foresight does not come naturally to most people, as the […]

You rated this post out of 5. Change rating

2021-05-15

303 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

A New World of Data

I started in the early days of SQL Server, when having a gigabyte of disk storage was unheard of, much less a gigabyte of RAM. My watch has more storage space than the mainframe we replaced with an early version of SQL Server years ago. The technical possibilities and amounts of data we are capable […]

You rated this post out of 5. Change rating

2020-02-15

127 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

Why Getting Data Right Matters

An InfoWorld article from 2017 suggests that 80 percent of a data scientist’s job is cleaning and transforming data, and I believe this is probably only true for organizations that spend at least an average effort in designing and implementing their data storage. These persons who have trained to analyze data using complex math formulas […]

You rated this post out of 5. Change rating

2020-02-01

182 reads

Blogs

The Data API Builder Start and Add Extensions in VS Code

By

One of the things that I like about the Data API Builder (DAB) is...

Using OneLake for Excel Files in Microsoft Fabric

By

Hey data friends! This blog is to discuss an edge case I’ve run into...

Another AI Faux Pax

By

I was experimenting with a local model (article) and as a part of this,...

Read the latest Blogs

Forums

AD, powershell and ssis

By stan

Hi, i have a requirement that involves visiting multiple folders in AD for active,...

File date from Extended Event .xel files

By Michael L John

I know this, but I do not remember it. I have scoured by saved...

SSMS gets very messy

By oRBIT

At work we have quite a few databases that I'm frequently browsing. This is...

Visit the forum

Question of the Day

Sparse Column Defaults

What are the restrictions for defaults on columns declared as sparse?

See possible answers