Over the last 30+ years of working with SQL Server, I have seen a lot of interview questions relating to SQL Server. I have been on both sides of the interview table, sometimes wondering what the person on the other side of the table was asking. As a SQL Server developer do you feel that you were asked good questions …

What is your favorite SQL Server Developer Interview questions? Read more »

Current Stedman Solutions SQL Course Coupon Codes. Save Up to 65% Off our Popular Online SQL Server Courses, a Once a Year Type Savings! 65% Off for April JOINs Month Coupon Code: APRIL-JOINS Leave your JOIN confusion in the past and enroll in our SQL Server JOIN Types Course. Learn More Here 50% Off Our Newest Course! Coupon Code: FEB-RELEASE50 …

SQL Course Coupon Codes Read more »

When I first created this JOIN Types poster or cheat sheet back in 2013 I didn’t realize there was such a need for it. I originally made this as a tool to explain JOIN types to a fellow coworker. It seemed almost impossible teach JOIN without it. The inspiration to create this tool came from a little bit of frustration. …

JOIN Types Poster Applause Read more »

Joining tables in SQL Server can be confusing and hinder your performance. I know because I have helped many confused people to understand their JOINs. That is why I created the JOIN Types cheat sheet several years ago, and the JOIN Types class last year. I have recently updated my poster to version 22. I have also made many blog …

Understanding JOINs Month Read more »

One possible cause of the “Cannot resolve the collation conflict” error message is that your database collation doesn’t match the TempDB Collation. Recommendation It is recommended that the collation of your database match the collation TempDB. It is possible that if your collations do not match that you may get errors, or that queries using TempDB will not run correctly.If …

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One of the feature differences between SQL Server Express Edition and the other paid versions is the ability to schedule jobs or tasks using the SQL Server Agent. Even if you are running SQL Server Express Edition, there is a need to run scheduled jobs. Things like: Backups Index and Statistics Maintenance Shrink DB  (Just Kidding, don’t do that) A …

Using OSQL.EXE to run a scheduled task on SQL Server Express Edition Read more »

TL;DR summary:  Don’t do it.  Stop reading here if you want, but just don’t do it. This post refers to shrinking your database files (mdf, or ndf files), not shrinking the log file. The log file is a completely different conversation, however, shrink database does shrink the log file. Not shrinking your database is one of the more counter intuitive …

DBCC ShrinkDatabase – I want to shrink my database. Read more »