SQL Server Developer Edition is free for development and testing, not for production. Here are the official download links for every supported version, SQL Server 2017 to SQL Server 2025, with the licensing pages and support end dates. You also get a quick query to check which edition a server runs.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
AI Basics: The Four Circles, and Four More Questions
Part one of ten. Most AI interview questions start here, even for senior roles. Someone asks you to explain a large language model in plain words, and your answer tells them more than your resume does. 1. What is the difference between AI, machine learning, deep learning and generative AI?…
Continue ReadingThe Fog After a Layoff: Rules for the First 30 Days
The fog after a layoff shows up before the grief does. You can’t read, you can’t decide, and you can’t find the words to tell the people you love. It isn’t weakness, and it lifts. These are small rules for the first 30 days, and the signs that it’s time to talk to someone.
Erdős Unit Distance Problem: What It Is and What AI Found
The Erdős unit distance problem asks how many pairs of points can sit exactly one unit apart. Paul Erdős guessed the answer in 1946, and the guess stood for eighty years. In May 2026, an OpenAI model found a counterexample. I checked the grid trick behind it in SQL Server, spatial queries included.
Outdated Statistics in SQL Server: The Optimizer Is Planning for Last Year
Outdated statistics in SQL Server can slow a query even when its code has not changed. On SQL Server 2025 with the legacy estimator, a stale statistic sent one join to 120,043 logical reads, and a targeted update brought it down to 18,220. Auto update helps, but it waits for a threshold, it samples, and it knows nothing about the rows that arrived today.
The Longer Query: A Sunday SQL Illusion
The longer query seems obvious in this Sunday illusion. Compare two bars in a server aisle, then check your answer.
AI Hallucinated a Table That Was Never There
AI hallucinated a table, wrote a lovely query against it, and handed the whole thing over without blinking. Say hello to Cardinal.
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