SQL

External Article

Introduction to SQL Server Security — Part 3

  • Article

SQL Server supports partially contained databases. This gives you the option of adding database users with a password inside the database. This makes the database easier to move to another instance or participate in an Always On Availability Group. In this article, Robert Sheldon explains how to work with users in contained databases.

2019-03-11

External Article

Empty Thoughts: Working with NULL

  • Article

Whether or not to have NULLable columns in a table can be a religious debate, and how missing data is represented should be carefully considered during database design. In this article, Joe Celko considers the ways that SQL Server handles NULLs in several situations.

2019-02-11

3,289 reads

External Article

Missing Data

  • Article

In the real world of business or scientific reporting and analysis, data can prove to be awkward. It can be plain wrong or it can be altogether missing. Sure, we have the NULL to signify unknown, but that doesn't play well with regular business reporting. There are a number of ways of dealing with missing information, and methods of estimating data from existing data has a long and respectable history. Joe Celko gets to grips with a data topic that is often treated with some trepidation.

2017-11-13

4,133 reads

External Article

SQL Code Smells

  • Article

Some time ago, Phil Factor wrote his booklet 'SQL Code Smells', collecting together a whole range of SQL Coding practices that could be considered to indicate the need for a review of the code. It was published as 119 code smells, even though there were 120 of them at the time. Phil Factor has continued to collect them and the current state of the art is reflected in this article. There are now around 150 of these smells and SQL Code Guard is committed to cover as many as possible of them.

2017-11-06

8,928 reads

Blogs

Asking for Help Isn’t a Weakness

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T-SQL Tuesday #204 – Are blogs still relevant?

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Note: This post is the invitation for T-SQL Tuesday #204 on November 3rd, 2026....

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The ##MS_DatabaseConnector## User

By Steve Jones - SSC Editor

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Planning for Change

By Steve Jones - SSC Editor

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Importing Excel files into SQL Server, Azure Edition

By Cláudio Tereso

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Question of the Day

The ##MS_DatabaseConnector## User

On SQL Server 2025, I run this code as a sysadmin:

CREATE LOGIN Demo WITH PASSWORD = 'Demo1234567'
GO
ALTER SERVER ROLE ##MS_DatabaseConnector## ADD MEMBER Demo
GO
I then login as Demo and run this:
USE sandbox
go
SELECT CURRENT_USER
What is returned?

See possible answers