Latest SQLComics

Rita the Raccoon Writes SQL

on March 28, 2024

I learned to make short form videos with my drawings this week, and, well… things are about to get weirder.

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Nested Loops

on March 24, 2024

Nested loop join operators tend to look quite innocent in an estimated query execution plan. But life ain’t always so simple.

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Meet the SQL Server Query Optimizer

on March 11, 2024

Thanks to Erik Darling for pointing out that it needed a little teeth.

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Plan Caching in SQL Server v1

on March 4, 2024

I drew out a first visualization of how the shared plan cache in SQL Server is used when you run a query. I’m pretty sure I’ll refine and and elaborate on this in the future, so let’s call this the v1.

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Latest blog posts

Online, Resumable, and WAIT_AT_LOW_PRIORITY operations in SQL Server

on December 10, 2019

ONLINE operations in SQL Server were simple to understand for years – we got ONLINE index rebuilds in SQL Server 2005. That was it for a while.

Then, things got more complicated: we got more types of indexes. We got ONLINE options for schema changes that don’t involve indexes. We got more options for managing things like blocking, because online operations are really only mostly online — generally there’s going to be at least a short period where an exclusive lock is needed to update metadata. We now have some RESUMABLE operations coming in, too, for those big operations that are tough to handle.

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What would you say you do here?

on December 9, 2019

The other day, I was looking back at an excellent blog post my colleague Jamie Wallis wrote about what Product Marketing Managers do at Redgate. I really like the chart he created which explains how Product Marketing Managers work with Product Managers – what each role focuses on, and where they collaborate.

I realized that my own role as an Advocate can also be hard to understand.

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Installing Redgate SQL Toolbelt with Chocolatey (video with transcript)

on December 2, 2019

Chocolatey is a package manager that helps you install, upgrade, and uninstall packages (applications) on Windows quickly and easily from the command line.

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My Git CLI Cheat Sheet

on November 27, 2019

I created a cheat sheet for the Git Command Line Interface to go along with my Git tutorial for SQL Change Automation video.

I find the Git CLI to be very friendly and easier to learn than a GUI interface.

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