Languages and coding

Simon Liew

SQL Server lock issues when using a DDL (including SELECT INTO) clause in long running transactions

April 12, 2017 by

Abstract

This article explains lock issues in SQL Server with DDL statements including SELECT INTO clause.

Use of explicit transaction is common in SQL Server development. Sometimes a developer might inadvertently specify a Data Definition Language clause within a long running explicit transaction, similar to the structure below, within a SQL Server object such as a stored procedure.

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Minette Steynberg

Understanding the XML description of the Deadlock Graph in SQL Server

March 29, 2017 by

Introduction

In my previous 2 articles, What is a SQL Server Deadlock and Understanding the graphical representation of the SQL Server Deadlock Graph, I discussed what a deadlock is, how SQL Server handles deadlocks, some tips on how to reduce deadlocks and ultimately what information you can glean by just looking at the graphical representation of the Deadlock Graph. In this article, I will look at what information is available in the XML description of the Deadlock Graph. The XML contains information which is not visible in the graphical representation of the Deadlock Graph, which makes it necessary for us to look at the XML description. Read more »

Some uncommon but useful T-SQL and Database Engine Enhancements in SQL Server 2016

March 20, 2017 by

SQL Server 2016 is the most advanced version of Microsoft’s Data Platform released yet. This is obviously my favorite one as it has tremendous capabilities and enormous features. These new additions not only enhance the productivity of its users (Database Developer, DBA or Application Developer), but also enable the enterprise to use its data more effectively and efficiently.

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Marko Zivkovic
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How to import/export JSON data using SQL Server 2016

March 7, 2017 by

JSON is an abbreviation for JavaScript Object Notation. JSON is very popular and currently the most commonly used data exchange format. Most modern web and mobile services return information formatted as JSON text, all database web services, web browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer) return results formatted as JSON text or accept data formatted as JSON. Since external systems format information as JSON text, JSON is also stored in SQL Server 2016 as text. You can use standard NVARCHAR columns to store JSON data in SQL Server 2016.

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Prashanth Jayaram

SQL Server Database Recovery Process Internals – database STARTUP Command

February 14, 2017 by

A database recovery process is an essential requirement for database systems, It can be a tedious job and the process of recovery varies on lot of scenarios. The desire to improve recovery results has resulted in various procedures, but understood by few and prone to errors. In this article, I’ll illustrate the impact of stopping the database instance in the middle of a large transaction that was running and discuss several techniques and tools that are available for faster and successful recovery.

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Daniel Calbimonte

How to generate random SQL Server test data using T-SQL

January 26, 2017 by

Introduction

In this article, we will talk about generating random values for testing purposes.

I once had a customer with software that worked fine in the demo with 30 rows, but after some months, the software had more than a million rows and it became very slow. The problem was not SQL Server, the problem was the application, which was not designed for tables with millions of rows. The customer sued to the software provider and lawyers were needed to create a resolution. If the provider had tested the software with millions of rows, this problem would have never happened.

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Shawn Melton

Connecting PowerShell to SQL Server – Using a Different Account

January 24, 2017 by

Introduction

In a previous article on Connecting PowerShell to SQL Server I went over how you use various methods in PowerShell to connect to SQL Server. In those examples though I only touched on using the current user that is running “PowerShell.exe”. In this article I want to pick up and go over how you would use the same methods, but as a different account. I will cover using both Windows Authentication (where supported) and SQL Login authentication.

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Sifiso Ndlovu

How to administer SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) subscriptions using PowerShell

January 23, 2017 by

In the article Report Subscription Changes in SQL Server Reporting Services 2016, I covered several changes to standard and data-driven subscriptions that were introduced in the release of SQL Server 2016. However all of those changes related to administering report subscriptions using a GUI (i.e. Report Manager Portal, SSRS Configuration Manager). The release of SQL Server Core, SQL Server on Linux and enhancements on Windows PowerShell, reinforces the growing shift by Microsoft to have SQL Server professionals adopt scripting as one of the ways to carry out their daily tasks. In this article we continue to explore SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) subscription feature by discussing some of the Windows PowerShell commands that can be utilised to administer report subscriptions.

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Microsoft SQL Server Non-Contained Object Migration Deployment Procedure using Powershell

January 12, 2017 by

As DBAs, we all face a lot of challenges while performing the migration of SQL Server databases from one server to another or even the whole servers at some times. The Database Migration process is not always a simple Backup and Restore process so we might need a huge amount of effort if we have to migrate objects which are not included in the native backups for a specified database, these objects are called Non-Contained Objects.

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Manjuke Fernando

Native JSON Support in SQL Server 2016

January 6, 2017 by

With the introduction of SQL Server 2016, Microsoft introduced many new features which had taken SQL Server another step forward and they made sure that it stands in front among many major Relational Database Systems.

One such feature which has been lacking but desperately required was the native support towards JSON.

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Ed Pollack

Java HashCode in TSQL

December 28, 2016 by

The Java HashCode method is used to determine uniqueness or similarity of strings. While implemented in Java, there can be many benefits of creating a similar or customized version of this method.

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Daniel Calbimonte

3 ways to improve T-SQL performance

November 22, 2016 by

Introduction

When customers used to ask for advice to solve some T-SQL Problem, they would show me their scripts, stored procedures and cursors. I saw horrible things doing that job, some things I do not want to remember, and even some I cannot tell you about 😉 In this article, we will talk about performance problems when using while loops in T-SQL. We will also talk about problems with UNIONsand finally the use of JOINS of two or more tables using the where clause (ANSI 89) instead of using INNER, LEFT or RIGHT JOINS using the from clause (ANSI 92).

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Aamir Syed

PowerShell: Get a daily database status email

November 22, 2016 by

The need for this script came about when I took a new job as a DBA. One of my responsibilities was to make sure all databases were available after the maintenance window which ran during the weekend. Rather than log into each database server and check that the databases were online, I had a script do the work for me and shoot me an email.

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Artemakis Artemiou

How to create and manage T-SQL code snippets

October 28, 2016 by

Introduction

Transact-SQL (T-SQL) snippets were first introduced in SQL Server 2012 Management Studio. T-SQL snippets are templates containing one or more T-SQL statements which you can easily use them when you develop T-SQL scripts. The main concept behind code snippets is code reuse. With code reuse you develop faster, easier and with less syntax errors. If you frequently use specific T-SQL statements, then you should consider creating snippets with these statements as they will help you a lot.

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Steve Simon

How to effectively extract data from an OLAP cube by relying upon T-SQL

October 19, 2016 by

Introduction

Last month I ran two Business Intelligence pre-conferences in South Africa. A interesting request arose during the course of the preconference in Cape Town. The individual wanted an approach to extracting data from an OLAP cube that would avoid intensive utilization of MDX and more reliance upon T-SQL. His main concern was with filtering the data at run time, via the report front end.

In this “fire side chat” we shall do just that, utilizing the cube that comes with the new Microsoft database “WideWorldImporters” and we shall learn how we can get from this

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Daniel Calbimonte

How to import a sample bacpac file to an Azure SQL Database using sqlpackage and PowerShell

October 18, 2016 by

Introduction

In our first part of this series, we showed how to import a bacpac file using the Azure Portal with Microsoft Azure Storage Explorer (MASE) and SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) to create a Database in Azure.

In the second part, we will show how to import a bacpac file to create a Database using the sqlpackage.exe tool and PowerShell.

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Minette Steynberg

5 handy Transact-SQL tips you may (or may not) know

September 23, 2016 by

Introduction

Even if you are a SQL veteran, actually especially if you are, you sometimes get really stuck doing something in the old way not realizing that in newer versions of SQL Server some handy functions have been added that can make your life easier.

In this article, I will mention a couple of these which appeared in SQL Server 2008 or later versions or might have even been there before but most people just didn’t know about.

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