A restore database mistake, in the first person, minute by minute. This is a composite of three near misses I have been close to, with the details changed. The error message is real, and so is every rule at the end.
Execution Plan Operators: Your Query’s Horoscope for the Month
Execution plan operators, twelve of them, read the way the back page reads the stars. Find the one that rules your plan this month. Each sign comes with what it means and the one thing it’s asking you to check.
SQL Server Limits, Verified: Eleven Records Pushed to the Edge
SQL Server limits, done the way a record book does them. Not what the documentation says, but what happened when I tried one more. Eleven records, each attempted on SQL Server 2025 build 17.0.4085.5, each with the exact error text at the edge. One documented figure turned out to be wrong on this…
SQL Server Triggers on Trial: The State Versus the Trigger
SQL Server triggers, tried in open court. The prosecution says they’re slow, hidden and wrong. The defence says they’re the only witness in the room. Four exhibits were measured on SQL Server 2025, and the judge rules at the end.
SQL Server Deadlock, Slow-Cooked: A Recipe That Serves Two Sessions
A SQL Server deadlock, written up the way a recipe card is written. Ingredients, prep, method, and what to do when the sauce splits. It reproduces on SQL Server 2025 every time, and I have the timestamps and the deadlock graph to prove it.
T-SQL Mistakes: Careless and Careful Write the Same Six Queries
T-SQL mistakes, in the two-panel format the children’s magazines used. Careless writes it one way. Careful writes it the other. Every pair was run on the same 1,200,000 rows on SQL Server 2025 and measured. One pair returned a wrong answer. One I stopped after fourteen minutes of CPU.
The SQL Advisor: Seven Answers, All Measured
The SQL Advisor answers seven letters with measurements instead of opinions. Table variables, what each index costs on insert, shrinking after a big delete, SELECT star, ORDER BY in a view, heaps, and whether the order of your WHERE predicates matters.