Stairway to XML

XML has been part of the SQL Standard since 2003, and is essential for any DBA because so many of the dynamic management views return XML data. Now that the industry is more used to data defined by document markup, it is becoming more important than ever for Database Developers and DBAs to understand the technology and to know where it makes sense to use XML. In this book, originally a series of articles on SQLServerCentral.com, Robert Sheldon flexes his talent to make the complicated seem simple. 

You might think, as a developer, that nothing but the best is good enough as a development database. You might be mistaken. There is a lot to be said for LocalDB, but Ed Elliott argues that every edition has its pros and cons, and you need to consider Cloud-based resources, VMs and Containerised databases too. There is a whole range of alternatives and how you choose depends on the type of database you are developing, but for Ed, LocalDB gets the five-star accolade
 

In this article I will explain some general purpose queries. I think each developer should have knowledge of these queries. These queries are not related to any specific topic of SQL. But knowledge of such queries can solve some complex tasks and may be used in many scenarios, so I decided to write an article on these queries. 

One SQL unit testing framework which I have been using lately is tSQLt, which is a simple open-source framework. 

Free 321 page eBook that covers execution plan basics, how to interpret plans, complex queries, and how to optimize execution plans. 

How to Fix Orphaned SQL Users 

This update is now available for Visual Studio 2012 and 2013