What are filegroups in SQL Server? A filegroup is a named container for data files, and an ordinary table or index lives in exactly one. This post builds a small demo, shows where a table lands, and gives honest advice on when extra filegroups help and when they only add work.
SQL Code Generators: Let SSMS Write the Script for You
SQL Code Generators in SSMS turn clicks into T-SQL. This post shows the Script button on dialogs, the Generate Scripts wizard and Select Top 1000 Rows, plus the checks I run before I trust a generated script.
SQL Code Comments: Notes Your Future Self Can Read
SQL Code Comments are the notes SQL Server skips and your teammates read. This post shows the two comment styles, what is worth writing in them, a header block for scripts and procedures, and how to stop a comment from lying after the code changes.
Keeping ACID Across More Than One Server
Understand a distributed transaction through two-phase commit, uncertain outcomes, coordinator recovery, and alternative business guarantees.
Joining Tables in SQL Server: INNER, LEFT and FULL Joins
Joining Tables lets one query combine rows from two tables that share a value. This post uses small Customers and Orders tables to show what INNER, LEFT and FULL OUTER joins return, how many rows each one gives, and how to read the rows that have no match.
Running SQL Code: Execute, Batches and GO in SSMS
Running SQL code in SSMS starts with F5 or the Execute button. This post covers running only a selection, what a batch is, why GO is not T-SQL, why variables disappear after GO, and how GO with a number repeats a batch.
Data and Information: Why Every Business Runs on a Database
Data and Information are not the same thing. Data is the raw facts a business stores, and information is the answer you get when a query processes them. This post uses a small bookshop table to show the difference, and why a database does the job better than a ledger or a spreadsheet.