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 ...

Last time, I discussed how to get PowerShell and SQLPS up and running on your machines. And much like my dog chasing its tail, you're probably asking yourself, "Now that I have it, what do I do with ...

JSON has stolen some of XML's thunder with features such as human and machine readability, a lightweight, compact text structure and support for many software and hardware platforms. JSON (JavaScript ...

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 ...

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 ...

Microsoft SQL Server's relational engine has offered new instrumentation that improves by light years with each new release. The introduction of Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) in SQL Server 2005 ...

SQL Server Management Studio or SSMS allows you to connect to the SQL server and execute queries. In this tutorial, we will see how you can install and configure SQL Server Management Studio in ...

SQL is neither the fastest nor the most elegant way to talk to databases, but it is the best way we have. Here’s why Today, Structured Query Language is the standard means of manipulating and querying ...

Analyze database contents using basic, intermediate and advanced SQL statement syntax and usage. Demonstrate capability to query data from multiple tables using SQL JOINS. Create and modify database ...