How to get clean, usable data out of SQL Server into Python
Build scalable data pipelines by pushing transformations into SQL and keeping Python focused on analysis.
2026-08-14
Articles
OUTER APPLY Fundamentals: Part 2
In Part 2 of this series we learn how OUTER APPLY can be used in your queries to return data, even when there are no matches between tables.
2026-08-12
3,292 reads
Create SQL Server 2025 Availability Groups with SSMS Wizard
SQL Server Availability Groups are great for DR and HA purposes. In this article, we look at how to setup a SQL Server 2025 Availability Group using the features in SQL Server Management Studio.
2026-08-12
How to Work with On-Premises AI Models to Generate T-SQL Code
See how a small local model performs on some SQL tasks. This shows how Ollama can run a model on your laptop.
2026-08-10
3,355 reads
How SQL Server maintenance becomes an attack path – and what to do about it
The article covers four connected areas: over-privileged database users, msdb and SQL Server Agent exposure, privileged maintenance jobs, and trigger-based permission hijacking.
2026-08-10
BIT_COUNT in SQL Server
Learn how the BIT_COUNT() function works and how it enabled operations where data is stored in bits.
2026-08-07
4,403 reads
Power BI Best Practices
In this tip, we’ll look at some best practices to help you get the most out of your models. We will also look the DAX formula language.
2026-08-07
T-SQL in SQL Server 2025: REGEXP_LIKE
This article goes into one of the new regular expression functions in SQL Server 2025: REGEXP_LIKE().
2026-08-05
5,226 reads
The best AI developer tools in 2026: from coding agents to code review
AI developer tools have matured fast. In 2026, most engineering workflows touch at least one AI coding agent, code reviewer, or research assistant — but the right combination depends heavily on your team size, codebase, and tolerance for setup overhead. This guide breaks down the tools actually worth using across three categories: research and architecture, day-to-day development, and code review, based on real, hands-on experience.
2026-08-05
Advanced T-SQL: Replacing Slow Cursors with Window Functions
This article looks at replacing a cursor with a window function to improve performance.
2026-08-03
6,853 reads
Blogs
The flight recorder: Replaying what an AI agent did on my SQL Server
By Arun Sirpal
“What exactly did it do on my server?” is the first question a DBA...
Announcements from the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference — Barcelona 2026
By James Serra
Microsoft shared a broad set of Fabric, Power BI, and SQL updates at FabCon...
Au Revoir for now
By Steve Jones
No, I’m not quitting or retiring. Just going on vacation, but I leave tonight...
Forums
Let's Talk Certifications
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Let's Talk Certifications, which is...
The Hidden Security Risks of Role Combination in SSAS Tabular
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Hidden Security Risks of...
The Empty Aggregate
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Empty Aggregate
Question of the Day
The Empty Aggregate
I have this table in a SQL Server 2025 database:
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[CustomerOrder] ( [OrderID] [int] NULL, [CustomerID] [int] NULL, [total] [money] NULL ) ON [PRIMARY] GOWhat is returned from this code? (answers are for the sum and then the count)
SELECT SUM(total) AS sum,
COUNT(total) AS count
FROM dbo.CustomerOrder;
See possible answers