How to determine the last value used by a sequence ...
I’ve been a fan of sequences ever since they were added in SQL Server 2012. Prior to […]
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Why the cloud is not a disaster recovery strategy for ...
When AWS stumbled – twice – in October 2025, many teams discovered that “we are in the […]
How to use refresh tokens in ASP.NET Core – a ...
Today’s applications require robust security to ensure your application’s sensitive and confidential information is not compromised. This […]
IDENTITY vs SEQUENCE in SQL Server – which should you ...
Auto-generated numeric keys are everywhere in relational databases. In SQL Server, two features dominate this space: IDENTITY columns […]
My thoughts on Redgate’s 2026 State of the Database Landscape ...
I always really look forward to reading Redgate’s annual State of the Database Landscape report, and 2026 […]
How to secure MySQL and PostgreSQL in the world of ...
Are you feeling the impact of AI in your daily work? No? Your database might say otherwise. […]
The secret life of database keys
There’s not much to database keys, right? When you build a new table, you add a column […]
Why disabling the SQL Server sa account still matters in ...
Every few years, someone asks a familiar question: do we really still need to disable the sa account in […]
Learning PostgreSQL with Grant: Data Storage
If you’re hosting your databases within a Virtual Machine (VM) or on some big iron, one of […]
How to optimize planned availability group failovers in SQL Server
We often perform planned availability group failovers in SQL Server for maintenance, patching, upgrades, and even hardware […]
How to safely use MySQL 8.0 post end-of-life (and alternatives ...
Regardless of how popular a specific software appliance is, particular versions of it are inevitably phased out […]
SQL Server Long-Running Query Detection: How to Find and Monitor ...
Monitoring and alerting can be overwhelming tasks, especially for those new to the world of managing production […]
How to Find and Monitor Slow/Long-Running Queries in SQL Server
Monitoring and alerting can be overwhelming tasks, especially for those new to the world of managing production […]
Python is good, but not perfect – here are 10 ...
Four years ago I wrote a blog on this site explaining why Python is better than C# […]
SQL Server 2025 CREATE EXTERNAL MODEL and AI_GENERATE_EMBEDDINGS Commands Explained
When SQL Server 2025 was announced, Bob Ward mentioned that there would be some new commands for […]
Securing Your Databases in 2026: Best Practices for the Evolving ...
In 2026, your approach to both applications and databases must be focused on practical and technical real-world […]
Common SQL Server Problems: Invalid Length
This is another part in my series designed to offer guidance around common issues in SQL Server. […]
Exploiting SQL Server Date Correlation Optimization: How Tampered Backups Enable ...
This article is a follow-up to SQL Server DBaaS Vulnerability: Decrypting System Code & Exfiltrating User Data, […]
How to Create a SQL Server Linked Server to Oracle ...
Easily move data from SQL Server to Oracle 26ai Free with this step-by-step guide. Learn how to […]
SQL Server Regular Expression Performance and Guidelines
SQL Server 2025 introduces regular expression (regex) functions to the TSQL language. You could do this in […]
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 […]
SQL Server Privilege Escalation via Replication Jobs
Privilege escalation in SQL Server isn’t just theory – it can happen through everyday maintenance jobs. This […]
Common SQL Server Problems: Invalid Object Name
This post is part of a series on common issues encountered in SQL Server. This time, we’ll […]
How to Build an AI-Powered Semantic Search in PostgreSQL with ...
Learn how to build a sleek, AI-powered semantic search engine that lives inside your existing database. We’ll […]
Evolving SQL Saturday
This is a guest editorial by Steve Jones (President of the SQL Saturday Corporation). The last four […]
10 Key Concepts Developers Should Know About the SQL Server model ...
When you create a new database in SQL Server, you might assume that the system starts with an empty […]
Making AI Talk to Your Database: AI-Powered Database Queries Made ...
Nowadays, artificial intelligence is everywhere. It’s so prevalent that even universities are implementing it into their curriculums. […]
MySQL vs PostgreSQL JSON Data Types: Key Differences & Which ...
In this article, the latest in the MySQL vs PostgreSQL series, we’ll compare how they each handle […]
15 Practical Tips for Securing SQL Server
Securing SQL Server isn’t complicated, but it does require consistent attention to the areas where real risks […]
How to Monitor and Optimize Batched Deletion Processes in SQL ...
Batched deletions are a common strategy in SQL Server to manage large datasets without overloading the system, […]
How to Create Uber-Fast Maps With Oracle 23ai Vector Tiles ...
Since this article was written, Oracle AI Database 26ai has been released. Oracle Database 23ai added 300+ […]
5 Strategies to Refactor SQL Code
Code refactoring is a common process when developing in procedural languages – and essential to developing high-quality […]
SQL Server DBaaS Vulnerability: Decrypting System Code & Exfiltrating User ...
Security in cloud environments is both challenging and fascinating, particularly for Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) offerings like Amazon RDS, […]
SQL Server DBaaS Vulnerability: Decrypting System Code & Exfiltrating User ...
Security in cloud environments is both challenging and fascinating, particularly for Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) offerings like Amazon RDS, […]
How to Build an AI-Powered T-SQL Assistant with Python & ...
If you’re a SQL Server DBA or developer looking to harness AI for your everyday scripting workflows, […]
Memories of Andrew Clarke, by Simon Galbraith
Simon Galbraith is the co-founder of Redgate and one of the creators of Simple Talk. Here, he […]
A Tribute to Andrew Clarke (a.k.a. Phil Factor)
We are deeply saddened to share the news that Andrew Clarke, better known to Simple-Talk readers as […]
Unlocking the Power of FULL OUTER JOIN in SQL: Performance, ...
The JOIN statement is one of the most common operations SQL developers perform. Yet in a world […]
MySQL Shell Basic Configuration Management (Part 6 – Backups and ...
In this final part of the MySQL Shell Configuration Management series, we explore how to automate performance […]
Secure PostgreSQL in Docker: SSL, Certificates & Config Best Practices
PostgreSQL is an open-source relational database management system valued for its power, standards-compliance, and extensibility. Whether you’re […]
Power BI TMDL View: Benefits, Security Risks & Best Practices
The Tabular Model Definition Language (TMDL) provides a simpler way of defining Power BI Semantic Models. Unlike […]
MySQL Shell Basic Configuration Management (Part 5a – Optimizing MySQL ...
Welcome back to our comprehensive guide on optimizing MySQL performance using MySQL Shell. So far in this […]
Mastering SQL VIEWs: Syntax, Use Cases, and Best Practices
VIEWs are an undervalued and underused feature in SQL. They basically consist of a query that has […]
How to Use the psql Command-Line Tool with Azure Database for PostgreSQL ...
A number of client tools are available for working with Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server. With […]
MySQL Index Overviews: PRIMARY KEY Indexes
If you’re a developer who had interactions with indexes in the past, you certainly know that indexes […]
How to Increase SQL Server Column Width Without IO (Input/Output) ...
One of the most hassle-prone changes that can be made in a SQL Server database is to […]
How to Measure Replication Latency in SQL Server AlwaysOn Synchronous ...
Synchronous replicas in SQL Server Availability Groups promise no data loss, but they don’t promise zero delay; […]
How to use pgAdmin with Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible ...
Multiple tools are available for working with Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server. One of these is […]
How to Use the New PRODUCT() Function in SQL Server ...
With each version of SQL Server, there are always a few new features introduced that we applaud […]
Incrementally Loading Data into Parquet with Python
Parquet is a column-oriented open-source storage format increasingly used for “big data” analytics. Yet despite its growing […]