At first sight the FORMAT function introduced in SQL Server 2016 looks like a useful addition. It allows freedom in formatting dates and numbers using C#-style format strings along with locale awareness. Although formatting is strictly the preserve of the … Continue reading →
Indexes slow down INSERTS into SQL Server tables, especially in Azure SQL where bulk logged inserts are not available. This procedure can disable and then rebuild all non-clustered indexes on one specified table. Disabling non-clustered indexes is a zero cost … Continue reading →
Automate the creation of ODBC data source names (DSNs) with a PowerShell script. The aim of this script is to apply a complete set of DSNs on a server, regardless of the previous state. The script begins by deleting existing … Continue reading →
We want to find how often customers are behind in their payments or calculate their average debt when they are in debt. The question might be How many customer-months of debt am I experiencing (counting 1 for each month that … Continue reading →
This script is aimed at data warehouse relational databases which don’t have foreign key constraints. Using column names it matches key column values between fact and dimension tables to identify orphans.
Continue reading →Despite its many advantages Tabular Analysis Services represents a step backwards in developer experience, particularly in the feedback following an exception. This is a short list of some of the more head-scratching error messages that occur when processing a Tabular … Continue reading →
Azure data factory pipelines consist of activities that are controlled for execution precedence and flow by constructs similar to SSIS precedence constraints. However, unlike SSIS, ADF has no error event that can be given pipeline-wide scope which is … Continue reading →
RAID write times are improved by writing to a cache. This is a quick operation, the calling program can get on with its business, and the RAID controller can solidify the cached changes to disk(s) in its own time. The … Continue reading →
A simple framework for implementing a time-framed record deletion policy: deleting records that are older than a certain threshold. Consists of a logging table and a stored procedure which deletes the records. The procedure deletes rows in batches and provides … Continue reading →
In retrospect this was a simple task: the steps set out in the invaluable video Configuring HTTP for SSAS all work. However, in the middle of a long process trying to get it to work the first time it seems … Continue reading →
