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

sp_who2 - filtering and sorting the results

Sp_who2 is one of the most useful and widely used stored procedures, along with its predecessor sp_who. However it is also one of the most frustrating as it only takes a single parameter and the results cannot be ordered. For a large server with a lot of connections this can be a real nuisance. This article explains how to sort and filter the results.

Featured Script

Clearing entries for failed jobs in the SQL agent history

SQL Server agent keeps a log of events in a table, this is used for the ‘View History’ which displays events for a job in the Log File Viewer. This script will delete selected rows from the history table, such as failed job runs.

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