Arthur Fuller explores the value of identity columns and the usefulness of their arbitrary values and discusses ways to use SQL Server 2000's IDENTITY_INSERT setting.

Assuring optimal performance of database applications starts with coding properly formulated SQL. Poorly written SQL and application code is the cause of most performance problems. As much as 75% of ...

Learn how to effectively manage and query databases with this practical SQL guide. Enhance your data analysis skills and boost productivity.

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 ...

Modifies a column's values in existing rows of a table or view. Restriction: You cannot use UPDATE on a table accessed via an engine that does not support UPDATE processing. You can update one or more ...

With SQL Server 2016, it now makes sense to store JSON objects in your database (even though there’s no JSON datatype). Here’s how to query JSON properties to find the rows you want.

SQL Server Drill Down SQL Server Drill Down explores all aspects of Microsoft SQL Server and related applications, with a particular emphasis on issues of interest to SQL Server data professionals.