Assuring optimal performance of database applications starts with coding properly formulated SQL. Poorly written SQL and application code is the cause of most performance problems. As much as 75% of ...

Arthur Fuller explores the value of identity columns and the usefulness of their arbitrary values and discusses ways to use SQL Server 2000's IDENTITY_INSERT setting. Despite your numerous ...

As I discussed in an earlier column, SQL Server keeps a plan cached for each query it sees (assuming the query requires planning in the first place, of course). That's great for speeding up processing ...

If you've worked in any data-centric role, you've probably experienced the effects of the proverbial "mandate from on high." Someone in the C-suite decides it's time to hop on the latest shift in the ...

Oracle this week announced the X8 version of its Exadata Database Machine, featuring breakthrough hardware and software enhancements and unique machine learning capabilities. Used by 77% of Fortune ...

Modifies a column's values in existing rows of a table or view. Restriction: You cannot use UPDATE on a table accessed via an engine that does not support UPDATE processing. You can update one or more ...