A page split in SQL Server happens when a row belongs on a data page that is already full. This post builds a small visitor table, shows which page every row sits on before and after a split, counts the splits in the log, and uses fill factor to leave room. Every result comes from SQL Server 2025.
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Physical Order of Rows: What a Clustered Index Does
Physical order of rows depends on one thing: whether the table has a clustered index. This post builds a heap and two clustered tables from the same twelve mall stores, shows the page and slot of every row, and counts pages and page splits. Every result comes from SQL Server 2025.
Distance Between Two Points on the Earth With the geography Type
The distance between two points on the earth takes one method call once you store the points as a geography value. This post builds a small table of five US cities, turns latitude and longitude into points, and measures with STDistance in meters, kilometers and miles. It also compares the answer with a flat map formula and a sphere formula, and shows the error for swapped arguments.
Space Used by Sparse Data: How SPARSE Columns Save Bytes
Space used by sparse data depends on how many values are NULL. This post loads 100,000 coupons into a normal table and a SPARSE table, measures the row size and the pages, and finds the point where SPARSE stops paying off. It also shows that a NULL in a sparse column costs nothing, and that a value costs more than usual.
GETUTCDATE and SYSUTCDATETIME: Which Current Time Function Returns What
GETUTCDATE and SYSUTCDATETIME return the current time in UTC, while GETDATE and SYSDATETIME return the local time of the server. This post runs all four side by side and shows their data types and precision. It also shows why GETDATE values always end in 0, 3 or 7, and why a time stamp column should store UTC.
AI_GENERATE_CHUNKS in SQL Server 2025: Splitting Long Text Into Pieces
AI_GENERATE_CHUNKS cuts one long piece of text into smaller pieces inside a query. This post tests the preview function on SQL Server 2025, shows what its columns hold and how overlap works, and explains how chunk size changes the number of pieces.
Data Row Space Usage: Estimate Row Size Before the Table Grows
Data row space usage is the number of bytes one row takes, and every table size estimate starts there. This post adds up the five parts of a row for a small table of rooms and checks the result against what SQL Server reports. It also shows that NULL does not shrink a fixed-length column, and turns 100,000 rows a day into pages and megabytes.
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