Structured, Semi-Structured and Unstructured Data differ in where the schema lives and how you query them. This post compares the three shapes and runs one query across a table, a json column and free text in SQL Server 2025.
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Gapless Invoice Numbers That Restart Every Year
Finance hates a missing invoice number. A small counter table and one short transaction keep the numbers gapless and restart them each year.
SQL Server Connection Errors: SQL in Sixty Seconds #030
SQL Server connection errors have a different message for each cause. The tests here trigger seven of them against a local SQL Server 2025 instance, show what the client says, what the ERRORLOG records, and how to find the port an instance listens on.
SQL SERVER – Order By Numeric Values Formatted as String
A column holds alphanumeric values that start with a number, and ORDER BY sorts them as text. Here is how to sort the rows by the Numeric part instead.
Merging Overlapping Date Ranges Into Continuous Periods
Use running end dates when merging overlapping ranges, choose boundary rules, and return continuous periods without losing nested intervals.
Server Configuration as Code
Configuration as code keeps SQL Server instance settings in reviewed scripts, with environment values, drift checks, and repeatable application.
SQLAuthority News – Who I Am And How I Got Here – True Story as Blog Post
People ask me for the secret to success. At John Sansom’s invitation, I wrote the true story of who I am and how I got here.
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