Is MERGE really slow, or did the rewrite just run on a quiet night? Here is a fair test you can run yourself.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
SQL SERVER – Difference Between CURRENT_TIMESTAMP and GETDATE() – CURRENT_TIMESTAMP Equivalent in SQL Server
Is there a difference between CURRENT_TIMESTAMP and GETDATE()? No. One is ANSI SQL and the other is the T-SQL version, and both return the same value.
Delete Duplicate Records in SQL Server: SQL in Sixty Seconds #036
To delete duplicate records safely, look at them first. The tests here find the duplicates, preview the rows that will go, delete all but the newest copy inside one transaction and add a unique index so they cannot return. Every query ran on SQL Server 2025.
Optimal Backup Methods: Full, Differential and Log Plans Compared
How to pick the optimal backup methods for your server: choose a recovery model first, then compare Full, Differential and Transaction Log backup plans. The chart lists the pros and cons of each.
Writing T-SQL With an AI Assistant: What to Check Before You Run It
Review T-SQL from an AI assistant for real columns, safe writes, index access, date boundaries, isolation, and rollback tests.
SQL Bangalore: The First SQL Server User Group Meeting
SQL Bangalore, our new SQL Server user group, held its first meeting on November 24, 2012. We had five 30 minute sessions, a surprise guest from Mumbai and an international guest from the USA. Here is my report, with photographs.
Uneven Parallelism: Spotting Skewed Threads Behind CXPACKET Waits
Diagnose uneven parallelism by comparing CXPACKET and CXCONSUMER with per-thread row counts in plans and live query profiles.
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