Your SQL Server Needs Spring Cleaning, Too.
First things first: pick up that filthy keyboard, take it over to the trash can, turn it upside down, and give it a good, vigorous shake.
2025-05-14
Uncategorized
How Do You Know You Are Right?
I spend a significant amount of time working alone at my desk. I write articles, edit them, and share my opinions. However, I am constantly concerned about being wrong. How can I overcome this feeling? If this were a live session, I would eagerly listen to the answers to this question. Since it isn't, I […]
2025-05-10
100 reads
Exploring the SQL Server CHOOSE Function
I preface a lot of what I write with whether or not it is for a “practical” use. One of the Simple Talk authors used this function in a forthcoming article. and I realized I hadn’t heard of it before (or I forgot about it… which is not completely unlikely.) The practical use was to generate some data and have at least a little variety to the values.
2025-05-09
How Helpful is a GenAI Copilot
Steve looks at a trial using Microsoft's Copilot and how helpful it was for workers.
2025-05-07
175 reads
Just Answer the Question!
I've taken part in online forums since... hoo boy, I was using a dial up modem and had to constantly remind my wife not to pick up the phone while I was using the computer. Man I'm old. Anyway... I've asked a lot of questions over the years, and I've tried to answer them as […]
2025-05-03
105 reads
Modern Streaming Architecture Serverless Pool with Spark Streaming
With the ubiquity of real-time data, organizations need streaming systems that are scalable, easy to use, and easy to integrate into business applications. Structured Streaming is a new high-level streaming API in Apache Spark based on my experience with Spark Streaming. In this article, we show structured streaming data written into Spark Tables and consumed by reporting Analytic for reporting needs.
2025-05-02
1,140 reads
Life Moves Pretty Fast
Driving my soon-to-be granddaughter to school today (my son is getting married and will adopt the young lady), we saw a dead armadillo, a turtle in the road (rescued it) and an escaped cow (left it alone). THEN... old soon-to-be granddad had forgotten lunch, so had to deliver that back at the school (cow must […]
2025-04-26
68 reads
How to Remove Constraints from a SQL Server Table
I need to drop constraints on a number of my SQL Server tables. Most of our constraints are primary key and foreign keys, but there are other constraints too. How can we script it so it will deploy with a pipeline in a repeatable manner?
2025-04-14
Two Events, Two Worlds: A Week in the Life of a Technologist
Last week, I had the chance to speak at two very different events, and the contrast between them really stuck with me. The first was all a traditional vendor conference- enterprise-level, built around a well-established product with over 40 years of vendor-driven development. Think polished sponsor tables, polished shoes, and more than a few suits […]
2025-04-12
68 reads
Level 5 of the Stairway to Synapse Analytics: create and use Delta Lake - Part 2
This next article in the Stairway to Synapse looks at Delta tables and processing streaming data.
2025-06-06 (first published: 2025-04-09)
916 reads
Blogs
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...
Claude Code Helps Analyze Test Data Manager Log Files
By Steve Jones
I had a customer ask about analyzing their Test Data Manager (TDM) usage to...
Forums
Data Warehouse Toolkit meets Star Schema: The Complete Reference
Is there a good syllabus for reading these two together? (Yes, it's called the...
GPX distance and time analysis in SQL Server
Comments posted to this topic are about the item GPX distance and time analysis...
The DBA is Dead; Long Live the DBA
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The DBA is Dead; Long...
Question of the Day
Changing the AG Listener
In SQL Server 2025, if I want to remove an IP from a listener, what do I do?
See possible answers