July 2009 - Posts

• Linked server vs. OPENQUERY for handling data type conversions

  Linked server queries and OPENQUERY differ in where a query is processed. This is of particular concern when bringing data from Oracle to SQL Server because of data type conversion issues. Here's a query that can fail when converted to a SQL Server linked Read More... Posted Friday, July 31, 2009 5:17 PM by John Paul Cook | 5 Comments

• Would you like to be able to do minimally logged deletes?

  I started a thread in two different private Microsoft newsgroups about minimal logging. There's been a lot of discussion, so now I'm bringing up the issue in public. In an effort to keep things focused, here are guidelines for the discussion: This is Read More... Posted Sunday, July 12, 2009 10:35 PM by John Paul Cook | 8 Comments

• Fun With Batches - Make Your Query Fail

  It's a common practice for people who write T-SQL scripts to test each statement one at a time before finally running the entire script. This can lead to unexpected surprises. When each statement in a script is executed one at a time, each is separate Read More... Posted Wednesday, July 01, 2009 9:46 PM by John Paul Cook | 2 Comments

• Making Presentations Accessible for Colorblind Individuals

  As I prepare for my SQL PASS 2009 presentation "Solving the Bill of Materials Problem", I'm trying to make sure I use colors that are visible to people with colorblindness. I've found two tools to help accomplish this. Colorlab available at http://colorlab.wickline.org/colorblind/colorlab/ Read More... Posted Wednesday, July 01, 2009 7:26 AM by John Paul Cook | 1 Comments