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Exploring the SQL Server CHOOSE Function
I preface a lot of what I write with whether or not it is for a “practical” use. One of the Simple Talk authors used this function in a forthcoming article. and I realized I hadn’t heard of it before...
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Sponsoring PGDay Chicago this week
On Friday, April 25, Simple Talk is excited to be a sponsor of PGDay Chicago 2025. This will be the second year in a row that we sponsor this event, but the first time one of the Simple Talk staff...
View ArticleSecuring the DevOps Pipeline Part 2: Hardening Kubernetes and Cloud Security
Strengthening Deployments and Runtime Protection In Part 1 of this series, we explored the foundational aspects of securing a DevOps pipeline, including CI/CD security best practices, image scanning,...
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Azure Function & API Rate Limits: How NAT Gateway Helps You Stay Under the Radar
Rate limit is common when consuming API’s: They control how many calls you can make in an interval of time. I faced one challenge with the rate limit recently: My Azure function calls an external API...
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How to Load a Date Dimension in Microsoft Fabric using Macros in dbt?
With the popular data transformation tool dbt (data build tool), we have a bunch of interesting features at our disposal to write SQL more efficiently. One of those features is macros, which we’ll...
View ArticleFrappe vs. Laravel: REST API Integration Techniques
REST APIs are fundamental in enabling communication between applications. Frappe and Laravel offer large frameworks to build and consume REST APIs, facilitating easy integration and extending...
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PGDay Chicago 2025 Roundup
Just got back home last night about 2 AM, and I am sitting in a park thinking about the last couple of days. Held in downtown Chicago, PG Day Chicago 2025 was very well done, and to be quite honest,...
View ArticleThe power of connecting in person
To start off I want to be clear, I am a big proponent of telecommuting. Big. It has been at least 15 years since I worked in an office with other people on a regular basis. And those other people were...
View ArticleWorking with the MongoDB Database Tools
This article is part of Robert Sheldon's continuing series on Mongo DB. To see all of the items in the series, click here. The MongoDB Database Tools are a set of command-line utilities for working...
View ArticleCommon SQL Server Problems: Invalid Object Name
This post is part of a series on common issues encountered in SQL Server. This time, we’ll talk about the invalid object name error: Msg 208, Level 16, State 1 Invalid object name '{object_name}'....
View ArticleSQL Server Privilege Escalation via Replication Jobs
Privilege escalation in SQL Server isn’t just theory – it can happen through everyday maintenance jobs. This article demonstrates how a user with roles like db_owner or db_ddladmin can exploit...
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How to View SQL Server Object Code Easily with sp_showcode
sp_helptext has served SQL Server DBAs for years, but it has its very obvious – and many – limitations: broken lines, missing triggers, no help with encrypted objects, to name just a few. That’s where...
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SQL Server Regular Expression Performance and Guidelines
SQL Server 2025 introduces regular expression (regex) functions to the TSQL language. You could do this in previous versions with user defined CLR functions, but the 2025 functions are natively...
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How to Create a SQL Server Linked Server to Oracle 26ai Free
Easily move data from SQL Server to Oracle 26ai Free with this step-by-step guide. Learn how to set up a linked server, configure FREEPDB1 and avoid common issues. I recently had to migrate some data...
View ArticleExploiting SQL Server Date Correlation Optimization: How Tampered Backups...
This article is a follow-up to SQL Server DBaaS Vulnerability: Decrypting System Code & Exfiltrating User Data, in which we saw some vulnerabilities that affected pretty much all DBaaS offerings...
View ArticleCommon SQL Server Problems: Invalid Length
This is another part in my series designed to offer guidance around common issues in SQL Server. Today, let’s talk about the all-too-common error: invalid length. What Is the Invalid Length Error in...
View ArticleCommon Misconceptions About Microsoft Certification Exams
Over the years, I’ve taken a lot of Microsoft exams. I’ve also spent a lot of time writing exams for Microsoft exam providers. And while I’ve been doing that, I’ve spent a lot of time in forums where...
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Securing Your Databases in 2026: Best Practices for the Evolving Threat...
In 2026, your approach to both applications and databases must be focused on practical and technical real-world operations and use cases rather than just hype. If not, you’re heading for trouble as...
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SQL Server 2025 CREATE EXTERNAL MODEL and AI_GENERATE_EMBEDDINGS Commands...
When SQL Server 2025 was announced, Bob Ward mentioned that there would be some new commands for managing AI models and their definitions, as well as T-SQL functions to generate embeddings, etc. I...
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Python is good, but not perfect – here are 10 reasons to avoid it
Four years ago I wrote a blog on this site explaining why Python is better than C# and, arguably, most other programming languages. To redress the balance, here are 10 reasons why you might want to...
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