As you will see in this chapter, companies use SQL Server for many types of applications and on most tiers now. Gone are the days when you would second guess yourself choosing to use SQL Server over a ...

The structured query language is a powerful tool for connecting to many database systems that store data in tables organized into rows and columns. It's often used on the backend of business websites ...

Microsoft today announced an interesting update to its database lineup with the preview of Azure SQL Database Edge, a new tool that brings the same database engine that powers Azure SQL Database in ...

SQL Server 2016 and Azure SQL Database both give you tables that automatically keep track of changes to your data. Here's how to both create those tables and alter existing tables so they track the ...

A new SQL Server 2025 feature lets organizations run vector-based semantic searches on their own data, connecting to local or cloud-hosted AI models without relying on massive general-purpose LLMs. I ...

From performance to programmability, the right database makes all the difference. Here are 13 key questions to guide your selection. Picking the “right” database can often be critical to the success ...

Let's break down when it's ideal to use the NOLOCK hint and when you should never use it. As a consultant, I work on wide swaths of database systems, which means I get to see many, many SQL statements ...