A junior developer wrote a trigger to block invalid data. A Check Constraint is simpler. My example limits PostalCode length in AdventureWorks and tests it.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
A Quarterly Permission Review
A quarterly permission review checks server and database roles, new grants, orphaned users, service accounts, and owner signoff.
SQL SERVER – Find Current Identity of Table
Many developers use MAX() to find the current identity of a table. I prefer DBCC CHECKIDENT, which reports the current identity value directly.
Comparing Two Databases Without a Scoreboard
Learn how to compare databases using representative work, operational skills, recovery requirements, and costs rather than feature-count scoreboards.
Weighted Average: Keep Group Totals and Value Counts
A weighted average preserves each group’s contribution. I compare unequal groups before combining their means. Group totals and populated-value counts reconstruct the underlying average without treating missing readings as zero.
SQL SERVER – 2008 – SQL Server Start Time
SQL Server 2008 records when it started in sys.dm_os_sys_info. One SELECT of sqlserver_start_time gives you the SQL Server start time. It does not work on 2005.
SQL SERVER – Introduction to SERVERPROPERTY and example
SERVERPROPERTY is a handy system function that returns server values like collation, edition and instance name. My script lists every property in one result.
SQL Server slow? Let's fix it together in about four hours.
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You keep every script, and the know-how to fix it yourself next time.
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