A trigger in SQL Server runs because something else happened, and you never call it. The inserted and deleted tables, why it fires once per statement and not once per row, and when to reach for something else.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
Cosine, Euclidean or Dot: Picking a Vector Distance Metric
Cosine, Euclidean and dot can rank the same vectors differently. Here are tiny examples you can check by hand, plus how to choose.
Fixing Collation Conflicts Between tempdb and Your Database
Fix tempdb collation conflicts with DATABASE_DEFAULT, compare a join-level COLLATE, and inspect contained-database behavior.
What Is a Stored Procedure in SQL Server?
A stored procedure is SQL with a name, a door and a contract. Why granting EXECUTE beats granting table access, what parameters buy you, and the plan reuse story people get half right.
What Is tempdb, and Why Everyone Shares It
tempdb is one scratch database shared by every database on the instance. The three kinds of thing that land in it, why it is rebuilt at every restart, and the reason its file count keeps coming up.
What Is a Transaction in SQL Server?
A transaction in SQL Server is a group of changes that all happen or none do. A rollback that undid 16,440 rows, what ACID means in four short words, and the open transaction that quietly fills a drive.
Querying Pattern Ranges With LIKE: A Wildcard Puzzle With the Answer
Querying pattern ranges with LIKE takes the % wildcard and a range in square brackets. This puzzle asks which of six queries finds every first name that starts with a letter from A to M and ends with z. The answer is tested on a small Members table, along with the = trap, the NOT range and a collation trap. Every result comes from SQL Server 2025.
SQL Server slow? Let's fix it together in about four hours.
In my Comprehensive Database Performance Health Check, you share your screen, I guide you, and we fix your biggest performance troublemakers. No passwords. No remote access.
You keep every script, and the know-how to fix it yourself next time.
Want your whole team to learn it?
My Practical Workshop has no PowerPoint, just live demos. My AI Enablement Workshop shows your team where AI saves hours, and where it quietly costs them.
Over 400 customers have worked with me this way, and not one shared a password. See all consulting options.