The Debug button in older SSMS could be mistaken for Execute, and the debugger is gone from current versions. This page keeps the 2012 episode and tests four ways to debug T-SQL without it on SQL Server 2025: parse only, error line numbers, progress messages and the OUTPUT clause.
Comment T-SQL in SSMS: SQL in Sixty Seconds #019
You can comment T-SQL in SSMS with a keyboard shortcut, a toolbar button or the Edit menu. The tests here show nested block comments, an UPDATE that lost its WHERE clause, a dangling comma after a commented column, and an unclosed comment, on SQL Server 2025.
Importing CSV File into SQL Server: SQL in Sixty Seconds #018
Importing CSV file data into SQL Server means matching the file to a table, loading it and checking the result. The tests here show a bad row skipped after a printed error, a text staging load, and the encoding and line ending settings that break a load.
Replace SELECT * with Column Names in SQL Server: SQL in Sixty Seconds #017
Replace SELECT * with the columns your application needs. The tests here show a query that read 4 pages instead of 64, a view that missed a new column, and two errors that appear when a table changes, all on SQL Server 2025.
Standard Reports in SSMS: SQL in Sixty Seconds #016
Standard Reports in SSMS put activity, space and performance information a few clicks away. This post adds T-SQL queries for the same questions, tested on SQL Server 2025, and shows the permission error a reader without VIEW SERVER PERFORMANCE STATE receives.
SQL SERVER – Quiz and Video – Introduction to Hierarchical Query using a Recursive CTE
Learn to write a hierarchical query using a recursive CTE with a short video and a quiz on an employee and manager table. Check your answer.
Installing AdventureWorks Sample Database: SQL in Sixty Seconds #010
Installing AdventureWorks is one RESTORE statement, and a few checks before and after it prevent the common failures. The tests here read a backup header and file list, restore under a new name with MOVE, and confirm the result on SQL Server 2025.