Question: How to Use Multiple Hints Together for a Query?
Answer: Of course, you can use multiple hints for a query. Here is an example of the same.
Query Runs Slow Occasionally: Five Checks to Find Why
When a query runs slow occasionally, the cause sits around the query: a lock, a job, a file growth, tempdb or a shortage of worker threads. This post gives one tested T-SQL check for each and a small demo for blocking and file growth. It also says what to do when all five checks find nothing.
Long-Running Query for Demonstrations You Can Control
A long-running query for demonstrations has to run long enough to watch and stop when you say. This post builds one from a counting table, shows how its run time grows with the row count and explains how to watch and stop it. It also compares it with WAITFOR DELAY.
In-Memory OLTP Migration Checklist: Which Features Block You
An In-Memory OLTP migration checklist from SSMS lists the tables and procedures the engine will refuse. This post tests those refusals on SQL Server 2025, shows which old limits are gone, and adds a query that finds blockers in your own database.
SQL SERVER – Active Parallel Requests and Cached Parallel Query History
I Identify parallel running requests separately from parallel queries recorded in the cache. Those lists answer different performance questions.
Do Stream Aggregate Operator Always Need Sort Operator? – Interview Question of the Week #240
Question: Do Stream Aggregate Operator Always Need Sort Operator?
Answer: Absolutely No.Before I explain this question a bit more in detail.
READPAST Query Hint: Skip Locked Rows in SQL Server
The READPAST query hint makes a read skip rows that another transaction has locked, instead of waiting for them. This post builds a five-seat demo, runs it in two windows and lists the cases where the hint does nothing. It also shows the work queue pattern that pairs READPAST with UPDLOCK.