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Question of the Day

May the Fourth 2020

The Voice of the DBA

Daily Coping Tip

Send friends a photo of a time you all enjoyed together

I also have a thread at SQLServerCentral dealing with coping mechanisms and resources. Feel free to participate.

For many of you out there working in a new way, I'm including a thought of the day on how to cope in this challenging time from The Action for Happiness Coping Calendar. My items will be on my blog, feel free to share yours.

May the Force Be With You

I've never done much more than give a passing smile when I see all the posts and notes about May 4th from geeks around the world. I was a huge Star Wars fan as a child, and the original is still probably the movie I've seen more times than any other. Life has moved on, and while I haven't been a s big a fan as an adult, being shut in at home has me thinking about Star Wars today, and the good luck saying, "May the force be with you. Always."

I loved the original trilogy growing up, was disappointed, but slogged through the prequels with my oldest. I watched the Force Awakens in Cape Canaveral with my middle son in the theater after seeing SpaceX launch and successfully recover their first reusable rocket. We were both a little disappointed in that one, not from the effects and action, but more from the writing, which seemed to drag on.

Since that time, I haven't seen any of the other films in the theater. In fact, I've watched most of them on an airplane, traveling from one place to another. Since I'm not traveling now, I'm thinking to actually go re-watch some of these films on a larger screen, with better lighting. I'm hoping some immersion in a series of films will take my mind away from some of the stress and strangeness of the real world.

I'm sure some of you are big fans to this day, some may not have seen all (or any) of the films. Today, as we start another work week, I'm taking a little break from the technical world I'll spend most of the day in and looking at a fantastic, highly technologically advanced, geeky Star Wars universe. Do you have favorite films or technology? Any films or characters that stand out to you? I have to admit I was always a big fan of the land speeder, though the pod racing in The Phantom Menace was exiting to me.

On this Star Wars day, with a world we might want to forget, share some Star Wars memories today.

Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Join the debate, and respond to today's editorial on the forums

Featured Contents

Configuring Database Alerts for Azure SQL Database

Deepak Prasad Sahu from SQLServerCentral

This article will help us to understand how to monitor Azure SQL Database and set up Azure metric alerts. Even though the database in Azure SQL Database is fully managed by Microsoft, we are still responsible for proper database access and performance. Azure does make it easy for us and it can alert on critical […]

SQL Server Database Deployment: What Could Go Wrong?

Additional Articles from SQLServerCentral

Phil Factor tackles the questions you were too shy to ask about SQL Server database builds, migrations and deployments.

Storage 101: Data Center Storage Configurations

Additional Articles from SQLServerCentral

In this article in the series, Robert Sheldon explains the differences between direct-attached storage, network-attached storage, and storage area networks.

From the SQL Server Central Blogs - Improved Windows Terminal Setup

Sheldon Hull from Sheldon Hull

I’ve long been a Cmder/ConEmu user for Windows as it’s provided a much-needed improvement of the standard Windows terminal.
I’ve started trying to use the newer Windows Terminal project to...

From the SQL Server Central Blogs - Decoded Statistics Names and More

SQLRNNR from SQL RNNR

Auto-generated statistics names can seem like they are entirely random, but there is a method to the madness. With a little effort and a bit of TSQL trickery, we...

Question of the Day

Today's question (by Steve Jones - SSC Editor):
	May the Fourth 2020
Which of these is not a real vehicle in the Star Wars universe?
Think you know the answer? Click here, and find out if you are right.

Yesterday's Question of the Day (by Steve Jones - SSC Editor)

RANKX Ties

I have a data set that looks like this:

User      Sales
--------- --------
USA       1000
Japan     800
UK        800
Ghana     400
Australia 700

I want to create a SalesRank column using the RANKX() function. I enter the table and column for sales, but I want to ensure that I handle ties appropriately. Which value do I choose for the ties parameter if I want the ranking to look like this?

User      Sales    SalesRank
--------- -------- ---------
USA       1000     1
Japan     800      2
UK        800      2
Ghana     400      4
Australia 700      3

Answer: Dense

Explanation: In order to get the "3" to show up, the Dense parameter is needed. The default is SKIP, which would produce rankings of 1, 2, 2, 4, 5. Ref: RANKX() - https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dax/rankx-function-dax

Discuss this question and answer on the forums

Database Pros Who Need Your Help

Here's a few of the new posts today on the forums. To see more, visit the forums.

SQL Server 2017 - Administration

AG Listener - Configured AG and windows cluster. However, seeing issues with creating AG listener. This is on a multisubnet. Have tried the options found in online and nothing seems to be working. The cluster does have rights to create DNS entries in the AD. I don't think it is access issue in AD. When i look at […]

SQL Server 2016 - Administration

Performance Help for transaction depenedency - Hi, Can anyone help me in fine tuning this or any other suggestions also.I have a table which will have a set of transactions and reference transactions if any. I am creating a job to purge transactions based on some conditions like date , full completed based on a status etc. If a single transaction […]

How to skip duplicate record and keep on running until the end? - I used code below to insert data into a table from another table. INSERT INTO tUser (Name,Email) SELECT Name,Email FROM tUSER_NEW T WHERE T.EMAIL NOT IN (SELECT EMAIL FROM tUser) But, this code will stop running once there is a duplicate record. How to skip duplicate record and keep on running until the end?

Scripting Query Store - I could not find such script but I am sure it should exist. If I want to ask a DBA of a particular database of a particular server to send me ALTER DATABASE etc.. script that would allow me run it and recreate his precise Query Store settings in my database. I want to just […]

SQL Server 2016 - Development and T-SQL

Pefromance help for transaction derrivation - Hi, Can anyone help me in fine tuning this or any other suggestions also.I have a table which will have a set of transactions and reference transactions if any. I am creating a job to purge transactions based on some conditions like date , full completed based on a status etc. If a single transaction […]

MDS - Entity Sync - Error MDSERR300004 - Hi, In Master Data Services in Model X I would like to validate an entity ('consumer entity') by checking whether a specific attribute value exists in another entity ('validation entity'). This checking is done by adding a domain-based attribute to the 'consumer entity' from the 'validation entity'. With every new input in the 'consumer entity' […]

Development - SQL Server 2014

How to create table dynamically using source txt/csv files in sql server table. - I have data in text files as attachments/below. SO header row position will be change and delimiter cama(,) semicolon(;) .. etc.. I need to load in each file as separate table from header and data only.. can you please give me solution any stored procedure /SSIS package code.. This is first file today date: […]

SQL Server 2019 - Development

Column encryption - Hi Experts , we want to encrypt sensitive information like ssn ,tax_id , phone no and address we are thinking of using column level encryption . But there are number of stored procedures which use this tables around 300 stored procedures few of them perform insert option and most of them retrieve information from these […]

Collapse record and get the number of days - here is my data. I am trying to get the dates in single row like below. Any help appreciated. result I need

Reporting Services

One filter from multiple columns SSRS - Hi, how can I create a single filter in SSRS with multiple columns? Below is an example of a table I am currently using. I will like to have just a single filter with unique values of the above locations. Thank you

Integration Services

Have txt/csv files, but header need to find from which row it will start - I have data in text files as attachments/below. SO header row position will be change and delimiter cama(,) semicolon(;) .. etc.. I need to load in each file as separate table from header and data only.. can you please give me solution any stored procedure /SSIS package code to find header row and based on […]

Package migration from version 6 to version 3 failed with error 0xC001700A - Forum, Im trying to execute and migrate a package which was developed in SQL 2012 on to a SQL 2008 server , i see the version mismatches from the error is there an alternative way to make it working ? . Im planning on having the BIDS installed and rewite the complete SSIS package. This […]

COVID-19 Pandemic

Daily Coping 28 Apr 2020 - Today's tip is to remember that all feelings and situations pass in time. My thoughts: http://voiceofthedba.com/2020/04/28/daily-coping-28-apr-2020/

Daily Coping 27 Apr 2020 - Today's tip is: connect with nature. Breathe and notice life continuing. My thoughts: http://voiceofthedba.com/2020/04/27/daily-coping-27-apr-2020/

Daily Coping 24 Apr 2020 - Today's tip is: Thank three people you’re grateful to and tell them why. My thoughts: http://voiceofthedba.com/2020/04/24/daily-coping-24-apr-2020/

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