New Date-Related Functions in SQL Server 2008 and Later

Along with the new data types DATE, TIME and DATETIME2 in SQL Server 2008, new and enhanced functions are also included. New Date Functions Added in SQL Server 2008 and Later The new data functions originally added in SQL Server 2008 are : SYSDATETIME SYSUTCDATETIME SYSDATETIMEOFFSET SWITCHOFFSET TODATETIMEOFFSET A more thorough explanation follows: SYSDATETIME This … Read more…

Undocumented Stored Procedure sp_MSforeachdb

A really neat undocumented SQL Server stored procedure is sp_MSforeachdb. This stored procedure takes as parameters SQL commands which are then executed against all databases on the current SQL Server instance.   Simple Example of sp_MSforeachdb in SQL Server A simple example (“Hello World”-style 🙂 is the following which lists all the databases in the … Read more…

Screencast: How to Create an Entity Data Model

Welcome to my first screencast dedicate to SQL Server 2008 Programmability! This screencast features the ADO .NET Entity Framework; a new feature of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 providing the developer with fast, robust and scalable data access. SQL Server 2008 fully supports the ADO .NET Entity Framework, allowing developers to effortlessly create entity data models … Read more…

Installing 32-bit SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services on a 64-bit machine/Windows OS

Is it possible to install 32-bit SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services on a 64-bit Computer/Windows OS while keeping the 64-bit version of the rest of SQL Server features? The answer is yes!   The Scenario about Installing 32-bit SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services on a 64-bit machine/Windows OS Well, here’s the story: I recently installed … Read more…

Sample Databases for SQL Server

DBAs and Database Developers always need to test new database-related work before migrating it to Production Environments. To this end, Test/Development Environments are usually set up in order to allow for testing new administration and programmability features of DBMSs (in our case SQL Server 🙂 Though, by only having such an environment set up is … Read more…

Index Fragmentation in SQL Server and How to Manage it

In this article, we will be discussing about index fragmentation in SQL Server and how you can manage it. SQL Server automatically maintains indexes whenever insert, delete, or update operations are performed on the underlying data.   1. The Two Types of Index Fragmentation in SQL Server Though, in the cases where the underlying data … Read more…

Congratulations 2009 Microsoft MVP!

Today I have received a congratulation email from Microsoft announcing that I have been presented with the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award for SQL Server! I am very happy about this award and I really feel honored. ——————————————————————————— Dear Artemakis Artemiou, Congratulations! We are pleased to present you with the 2009 Microsoft® MVP Award! … Read more…

Exclusive access could not be obtained because the database is in use

About the Error Message: “Exclusive access could not be obtained because the database is in use” A very neat feature of SQL Server is the way it lets the DBA to control connections. To this end, you can explicitly control connections with specific commands and methods. Even though this is not usually needed, there are … Read more…

A transport-level error has occurred when sending the request to the server

In this article, we will be discussing about the “A transport-level error has occurred when sending the request to the server” error message, you might get in SQL Server. This article’s purpose is to explain the above connectivity error and ways of resolving it.   Why you might get the “transport-level” error in SQL Server … Read more…

Divide by zero error encountered

In this article, we will be discussing about the “Divide by zero error encountered” error message in SQL Server. About the “Divide by zero error encountered” error message Well, as the error message says, whenever we have a division within a SQL query and the denominator has the value of zero (0) we get this … Read more…

Commonly used string functions in SQL Server

In this article, we provide a list of commonly used string functions in SQL Server. By combining these functions, it is possible to easily manipulate strings. For each function, we provide useful examples, that can help you better understand these functions’ usage.   REPLICATE This function given a string and an integer N, it repeats … Read more…