When I was 11 I got my first computer, an 8088 with 4.5 mhz. I didn’t know much about computers at the time but I knew it was cool. It took me a while to figure out that there was a turbo mode to take that puppy up to 8.5 mhz. Dialing up to BBS hosts with 2400 baud… the nostalgia is in full effect. That’s right. The internet we know today wasn’t even a thing yet.
Tag: Development
May the forced be with you?
Today is May the fourth and I’ll start by saying: Happy Star Wars day to all. Since it is May the fourth I figured a Star Wars themed post would be nice.
Free SQL tuning tool: How’s My Database?
It’s taken longer than I thought it may and I’ve run into several problems along the way but had a few people in the MVP community swing some homeruns to help me complete the BETA of this new SQL Server community query tuning tool.
Are scalar functions really a bad thing?
I’ve read a lot of things lately pointing to scalar functions as if they were the devil. In this blog I’m going to explore if that’s the case. Let’s have a look.
You know everything about GROUP BY. Do you?
SQL is a stout language and SQL Server has so many features that it’s impossible to be an expert in everything. I see a lot of people gravitate towards performance; but, that’s not the best place to focus. If you don’t know the fundamentals of the language then you will never be the best performance tuner.Read More »
Back to basics: What is a HEAP table?
Understanding the fundamentals is key for success, with everything you do. These days SQL Server has expanded into much more than just a database; but, products that ingest data for analysis still need to get the data from a source, such as an OLTP SQL database.Read More »
SQL Ops Studio extension development : Starting an adventure
I’ve been in technology a long, long time (more than 2 decades). Over the years, I learned Access which took me to Oracle and then translated nicely to SQL Server where I’ve spent the bulk of my time.
Along the way different projects had different requirements and challenges. To take these on and be a better DBA, I learned VB 6 and then VB.NET. A C++/C# developer asked why I was wasting my time relearning VB when I could learn a real language (C#). Years later I got tired of TechNet samples being only C# and I learned it and primarily use C# as my dev language of choice today.
SQL Tuning: Finding statements for missing indexes
Missing indexes are an important part of the indexing strategy. I usually start with sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats to find both inefficient and unused indexes and then supplement with missing indexes.
The missing index DMVs are great but they’ve always been missing something.
Query tuning: Apply yourself
It’s Friday and I’m ready for the weekend as I’m sure everyone else is. This weekend I’m looking forward to getting yard work done and browsing through the whoisactive SQL Ops Studio extension code.
The best overlooked addition to SQL 2016
Many of the widely advertised and talked about features of SQL Server or other software products focus exclusively on the hip new thing as opposed to quality of life. I’ve even recently heard people complain to Microsoft that they only focus on new features instead of making existing ones better.
SQL TECH BLOG 