Matt Gordon hosts this month’s T-SQL Tuesday and asks us to write about how we’ve used a new capability of the SQL Server ecosystem to solve an old problem. At first blush, this seems like a good way to show concrete benefits to abstract new concepts. But I wonder if it sets the bar too high. Continue reading
I have to admit, I’ve been pleased with the developments with SQL Server 2016. In addition to all of the new features, they brought SQL Server to Linux and with SP1 they opened all the goodies up to Standard Edition. So when Brent Ozar asked us to scour Microsoft Connect for even more improvements for T-SQL Tuesday #86 (#tsql2sday), I wondered if we wouldn’t tempt fate. But as IT folks we love to complain about our tools, so here goes. Continue reading
“When are we going to see you up there?” Mark Vaillancourt had just finished presenting DANGER: The Art and Science of Presenting at SQL Saturday #238. He and Mike Donnelly had put the question to me as they were packing up. I demurred; surely that was best left to experts like them. They persisted, noting how I was always at our user group meetings and how a novice viewpoint was often more helpful for beginners. Being an audience member was one thing, I protested, and speaking was quite another. They kept on the offensive but I managed to slink away without any firm commitments. Nonetheless, they’d struck a chord. Continue reading
Andy Mallon hosts this month’s T-SQL Tuesday, asking us to reflect on Allan Hirt’s tweet lamenting that “we’re still dealing with the same problems” after 25 years in IT.
I think technology has the paradoxical problem of moving both too fast and too slow. Continue reading
Chris Yates is hosting T-SQL Tuesday #080 and asks us to come up with a SQL-related present such as the gift of knowledge. Rather than simply share some tidbit of information, why not teach folks to fish? Continue reading
Michael J Swart is hosting this month’s T-SQL Tuesday, about the June 1st release of SQL Server 2016.
There’s so much “new” that Microsoft spread it out across several sprawling lists. The headline features from a year ago are: Continue reading