Bit shifts fill vacant positions with zero and discard bits past the type width. Compare tinyint with int and a negative shift direction.
Untested Backup: The Joke That Ends With a Resignation Letter
An untested backup is the darkest joke in the DBA world. Here’s how the story usually ends, and the simple restore drill that keeps you out of it.
SQL SERVER – Orphaned MS DTC Transaction Information
An orphaned MS DTC transaction kept crashing our IIS application pool. A quick script on sys.syslockinfo shows if you have one, and a Microsoft hotfix solved it.
SQL SERVER – Four Basic SQL Statements – SQL Operations
The four basic SQL statements are SELECT, UPDATE, INSERT and DELETE. A short note on what each one does, with a link to my one page FAQ sheet for full syntax.
SQL SERVER – SQL SERVER – Comparison : Similarity and Difference #TempTable vs @TempVariable – Part 2
Can a temp table have indexes? Yes. In Part 2 of #TempTable vs @TempVariable, I explain how temporary table indexes live in TempDB and when they help.
Readable IDs: A Bounded Computed Invoice Number
Create readable IDs with a computed invoice number while retaining the numeric key. Enforce the six-digit domain and plan format changes before growth.
SQL SERVER – Function Property – Deterministic or Non-Deterministic
How do you tell if a user defined function is deterministic or non-deterministic? One OBJECTPROPERTY call with IsDeterministic gives you the answer.
XQuery distinct-values: Deduplicate Atomic Values, Not Nodes
XQuery distinct-values removes repeated atomic values rather than selecting representative source nodes. I rebuild a small sorted XML result from repeated text. The example also keeps an empty document in view.
SQL SERVER – 2005 – Find Tables With Foreign Key Constraint in Database – Part 2
Joffery improved my script to find tables with foreign key constraint in a database, adding the ON UPDATE and ON DELETE rules and a little ordering.
SQL SERVER – Create Database Error in Windows Vista
A reader on Vista got a create database error, Msg 262 CREATE DATABASE permission denied in database master. The fix is the same one from my earlier post.