One of the most common problems when running SQL Servers is slow queries. The help desk or database team usually hears that described as the application is slow or ...

As I discussed in an earlier column, SQL Server keeps a plan cached for each query it sees (assuming the query requires planning in the first place, of course). That's great for speeding up processing ...

As I described here, Power BI can send SQL queries in parallel in DirectQuery mode and you can see from the Timeline column there is some parallelism happening here – the last two SQL queries ...

SQL Server performance is slow. Users are complaining. Your boss wants to know what's going on and what you can do to improve SQL Server performance. Where do you start? Which SQL Server query should ...

I have been testing SQL Server 2008 RC0 (Release Candidate Zero) that was made available recently and I must admit I am beginning to like it. Even the new logo is growing on me. There are many new ...

A common SQL habit is to use SELECT * on a query, because it’s tedious to list all the columns you need. Plus, sometimes those columns may change over time, so why not just do things the easy way? But ...

Part of the problem is that there is no magic bullet, and for almost every best practice, I can show you at least one exception. Typically, a developer finds his or her own favorite methods — though ...

As an addendum to last week's post about a recent SQL Server camp held for PHP developers, Microsoft's Brian Swan has published some new nuts-and-bolts details for converting MySQL queries. Swan, who ...

SQL is a convenient way to manage and query your data, but badly written queries can tie up your database. Here are seven common SQL traps and how to avoid them. Database developers have it tough.

One of the most common problems when running SQL Servers is slow queries. The help desk or database team usually hears that described as the application is slow or ...