Working with the Registry
It's not often you'll need to access the registry from SQL, but when you do - these functions make it happen!
SQL Server 2005 Feature Survey Results
A week ago, we solicited readers to let Microsoft know which of the SQL Server 2005 announced features mattered most to them. We had a great response, with 890 of you answering the survey in three days. The answers were pretty interesting. The full results can be seen at the bottom of this article.
Yukon Passwords
Some good info on password changes in Yukon (SQL 2005). Based on the beta, but worth taking a look at.
Null Functions (Arent those Meetings?)
Dinesh did a little research on nulls and was kind enough to package it up for us. How many of you know or use NULLIF? Or COALESCE? Handy stuff!
Dump SQL Permissions
We saw a note from Chad about a tool he wrote in the forums and asked him to write up some notes. Not only did we get notes, we got the source code! See what a DBA can do with some DMO.
Review of Programming Microsoft SQL Server 2000 with Microsoft Visual
We get books in occasionally for review and have started making them available to our existing authors. Jim was interested in this one - turns out he didn't find much to like. If you're a beginner it might be a better fit. Or maybe you've read the book and disagree?
What You Don't Know
A very short article that discusses how nulls can ruin your day if you don't understand how they behave when you concatenate.
Review of ApexSQL Report v4.3
We had Mike take a look at this product recently and he found a lot to like. He also had some suggestions about ways the product could be improved - interesting since you get free upgrades for life with this product. This is a very good walk through of the product.
Yukon Delayed Again and Named
Microsoft confirmed today that it has delayed Yukon yet again. It also announced that Yukon has an official name and will have another beta added to the development cycle. Get all the info here and share with Microsoft your thoughts about what features are important to you.
Worst Practice - Not Qualifying Objects With The Owner
Regular columnist Chris Hedgate follow up on Andy's recent article about Worst Practices with one of his own. This is worth passing on to your development team.
Blogs
A New Word: los vidados
By Steve Jones
los vidados – n. the half-remembered acquaintances you knew years ago, who you might...
In-Person CISA Training – April 13-16, 2026
By Brian Kelley
I will be leading an in-person Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exam prep class...
EightKB 2026
EightKB is back again for 2026! The biggest online SQL Server internals conference is...
Forums
Vectors in SQL Server 2025
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Vectors in SQL Server 2025
Odd Sequences
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Odd Sequences
Everything is the right question away
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Everything is the right question...
Question of the Day
Odd Sequences
What values are returned from this code?
CREATE SEQUENCE NumericSequence
AS NUMERIC(5,1)
START WITH 1.0
INCREMENT BY 0.1;
GO
SELECT NEXT VALUE FOR NumericSequence
GO
SELECT NEXT VALUE FOR NumericSequence
GO See possible answers