When STRING_SPLIT() falls short
SQL Server’s STRING_SPLIT() has limitations; here are the gaps to consider when splitting strings.
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T-SQL
Blocking with OBJECT_NAME()
Use OBJECT_NAME() to resolve object IDs in SQL Server blocking diagnostics and identify the affected objects.
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Testing as another user...without their password
Test SQL Server permissions as another user without knowing or resetting that person’s password.
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Changing a column from int to bigint, without downtime
Changing a column from int to bigint has gotten a lot easier since I started working on SQL Server back at the turn of the century. SQL Server 2016 introduced the ability to do ALTER TABLE...ALTER COLUMN as an online operation using the WITH (ONLINE=ON) …
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How to create date buckets in T-SQL
I was fiddling around with some data, looking at making a quick aging report. I probably should have reached for Power BI Desktop, but sometimes I can be stubborn, and I wanted to get my T-SQL to work–if nothing else to figure out how to make it work.
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Why does ALTER let me DROP?
I was recently chatting with a coworker, discussing why there is no discrete DROP permission for tables, procedures, etc. The conversation actually came from a #SQLHelp question on SQL Slack that was asked along the lines of “What if I want to let a user …
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Year 4: May 2017 - May 2018
In Year Three, I had a pretty big year. I kind of felt like I had peaked. I had received the Community Influencer of the Year Award and Microsoft MVP Award. Where do you go from there? Mostly, I just wanted to keep up what I was doing, and keep sharing what I …
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Code to purge data based on creation date
Yesterday, I talked about batching deletes, and the day before I talked about how much I like to delete data, and why it's necessary to do it, despite being a data pack rat. Today, let's look at just one scenario, and how I like to handle it. In my experience, …
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Purging data with batched deletes
Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of planning your data purges. Today, let's look at the simplest requirement for purging data: Keep data for X days after it's created.
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The thrill of purging old data
DBAs & Data professionals tend to be digital packrats. My personal Google Drive is filled with random files that I refused to part with--even though it's of questionable value. I lament that I do not have a copy of every paper I typed in high school or …
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