Michael Rys is one of two program managers responsible for the XML features in SQL Server. He also represents Microsoft on the W3C XQuery Working Group, and on the ANSI working group for SQL. I asked him what is distinctive about the XML support in SQL Server 2005, as opposed to that found in rival database management systems. As Rys acknowledges, "all the three major vendors, Oracle, IBM and Microsoft, are moving towards second or third generation suppor
One of the features of SQL Server 2000 is the Soundex feature that allows phonetic matching. Michael Coles brings us a new toolkit that solves some of the issues that occur with soundex as well as an explanation why this occurs.
Microsoft introduces new operators PIVOT and UNPIVOT in SQL Server 2005. Traditionally we create queries using the CASE statement and aggregate function in order to produce cross-tab reports. This article illustrates the usage of the new operators, PIVOT and UNPIVOT.
If you live in the US, take a few minutes for this performance survey and you could win an Amazon gift certificate.
We will continue our review of Foreach enumerators starting with Foreach ADO, since this one probably qualifies as the most popular choice in its category. This is due to the fact that ADO recordsets offer a convenient way of dealing with data sources, regardless of their type (for example, within SSIS, you can easily populate a recordset by executing a SQL query or by reading the content of a flat file)
Most skilled professionals—be they butchers, bakers or software makers—take pride in selecting their own tools of the trade. Why is it then that developers and DBAs in large corporations often are not afforded the same professional courtesy or opportunity? The tools they use are just as vital to their livelihood, yet when it comes to high-cost software, developers and DBAs often have no input into what is purchased for their use.
Who builds SQL Server? It's an interesting collection of individuals and we're looking to bring you some profiles of them all. In the first installment of this series Steve Jones interviews Euan Garden, longtime member of the team.
This article discusses three common problems DBAs are likely to encounter when columns have the identity property, which is defined as an attribute of int, smallint, bigint, decimal, numeric or tinyint columns that will auto-increment their value when data is inserted. These problems are humorously referred to as the identity crisis.
We are sorry to say that a case of plagiarism occurred recently and SQLServerCentral.com is issuing an apology to Ken Henderson.
A SQL Server DBA seems to be a stable job and many of us stick with the same job for an above average length of time. However employee retention in general is important to a strong and healthy company. Steve Jones starts a new series looking at this topic and why an employer might want to worry about retention.
By Brian Kelley
I am guilty as charged. The quote was in reference to how people argue...
By Steve Jones
Learn how to tie a bowline knot. Practice in the dark. With one hand....
By HeyMo0sh
As a DevOps practitioner, I’ve always focused on performance, scalability, and automation. But as...
Hi, I have a SQL Server instance where users connect to via Windows Authentication,...
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I have a query from a former DBA that we run on SQL Server 2025 to check on database metadata. This query references sys.sysaltfiles. I want to refactor this code to be more modern. Which DMV should I reference instead?
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