Understand why a short VARCHAR returns a star for an integer, compare Unicode errors and string truncation, and size conversions safely.
SQL SERVER – SQL Server Statistics Name and Index Creation
Guest author Sandip hit Msg 1913 while creating an index, because an index or statistics with that name already existed. A lesson on statistics name and index creation.
When One Number Has Three Different Answers
Diagnose reporting inconsistency by matching filters, refresh cutoffs, and row grain before comparing totals from different reports.
Moving From LocalDB to a Real Instance
Moving from LocalDB to a server instance takes a tested backup and restore, new connection strings, mapped logins, and a collation check.
SQL SERVER – Grouping by Multiple Columns to Single Column as A String
How do you group data from multiple columns into one comma separated string per row, grouped by another column? Here is a sample dataset and the query.
SET LOCK_TIMEOUT and Error 1222: Waiting Less for Locks
Set LOCK_TIMEOUT to bound lock waits, reproduce error 1222, clean up the transaction, and retry safely without confusing client timeouts.
Fuzzy Name Matching With SOUNDEX and DIFFERENCE
SOUNDEX and DIFFERENCE can surface duplicate customers, and they can also flag people who only sound alike. Here is how I keep the review honest.