Recent Blogs and Articles

Welcome to SQL Matters

SQL Matters is a resource for SQL Server Developers, Architects, DBAs and others interested in SQL Server and related technologies . Our site contains a wide range of articles, tips, blogs, quiz questions and other information about the SQL Server range of products. This includes Integration Services (SSIS), Reporting Services (SSRS), Analysis Services (SSAS) and some other products that we feel might be of interest to the SQL Server community such as PowerPivot and Report Builder.

Here are some examples of technical information that you might be interested in :

Featured Tip

Using SQL to convert row values to a single concatenated string

Most solutions to the problem of concatenating rows into a single string involve some sort of looping, usually using a cursor or while loop, or recursion using a Common Table Expression (CTE). This tip describes an alternative technique which uses an undocumented Microsoft feature to achieve concatenation.

Featured Script

Checking for users with sysadmin privileges

One thing I like to do occasionally, or when "inheriting" a new SQL server is to check which users have sysadmin privileges. As these users have access to perform any activity in SQL Server it’s important to keep the number of these users to a minimum especially on production systems.

Quick Quiz : DATALENGTH results

What is the result of the following SQL query ?
DECLARE @MyStr NVARCHAR (100)
SET @MyStr = 'ABC'
SELECT DATALENGTH(@MyStr)
Choose one : a) 3    b) 6    c) 50    d) 100