The Bit Bucket

I recently received a review copy of SQL for Data Analytics: Analyze data effectively, uncover insights and master advanced SQL for real-world applications by Jun Shan, Haibin Li, Matt Goldwasser, Upom Malik, Benjamin Johnston from my friends at PackT. It is the fourth edition of this book.

Authors

Jun Shan is a principal cloud solution advisor.
Haibin Li is a lead predictive modeler. He was a technical reviewer for the third edition of this book.
Matt Goldwasser is Vice President and head of AI and Data Science for Global Distribution at T.Rowe Price.
Upom Malik is a data science and analytics leader.
Benjamin Johnston is a senior data scientist for a leading data-driven MedTech company.

2025-11-23

During a recent consulting engagement, I was asked about how to use column-based encryption in SQL Server. In this article, which is the second part of a two-part series, let’s explore how to get started using column-based encryption.

In the previous post , I provided background information about encryption and certificates.

If you’re not very familiar with these technologies, you should read that previous post before this one.

Encryption Technologies in SQL Server

Way back in SQL Server 2005, Microsoft introduced an amazing array of technologies. I suspect that many SQL Server professionals aren’t aware of just how many technologies were introduced in that release. It’s not surprising that professionals are still learning about a number of these technologies, even 20 years later. In particular, questions regarding certificates, keys, and column-based encryption still draw blank responses from most SQL Server professionals.

2025-11-22

I receive a lot of email. Most of it is relevant to me, or at least was at some point.

Dodgy brokers

That’s not the case for all my email though. A while back, I started receiving lots of email offering me things as a recruiter. But I’m not a recruiter. However, dodgy companies have included me in a list of recruiters for some reason, and then rent out access to the list to other companies in some way.

2025-11-21

I recently received an early release review copy of Azure Data Fundamentals: A Guide to DP-900 Certification and Beyond by Michael John Peña from my friends at O’Reilly.

Background

Over the years, I’ve taken a large number of Microsoft certification exams. I’ve also helped to write many of the exams. Therecd are people who’ve taken more than me, but not many. This book is designed to help you pass the DP-900 exam. I did take that exam long ago and thought it was a reasonable exam.

2025-11-20

SSMS has the ability to work with different encodings when you are opening or saving files.

When you use File and Open, note that beside the Open button is a drop-down arrow:

The Open With option leads to this:

 

In that screen, you can choose an existing value or click Add to add another program that you want to use for opening files of that type:

As an example, you might want to use a different XML or JSON editor.

2025-11-19

During a recent consulting engagement, I was asked about how to use column-based encryption in SQL Server. In this article which is the first of a two-part series, let’s explore the technologies involved and how to get started with using column-based encryption. Next time, we’ll continue with using these technologies for column-based encryption.

Encryption Terminology

Encryption is the science of hiding secrets. Information that needs to be protected (often called plaintext) is converted (or encrypted) to a form (often called ciphertext) that is difficult for another person to read within a reasonable period of time.

2025-11-18

It was great to catch up with Simon Sabin today and to have him on another SQL Down Under podcast.

Simon is the founder of Sabin.io where he revolutionizes the data practices of his clients.

Simon has a track record spanning diverse sectors like finance, retail, insurance, and motor sports and is recognized as a data expert. I’ve known Simon for a long time. He was a Data Platform MVP from 2005 to 2024, and a fellow member of the Microsoft Regional Director program.

2025-11-18

This is the twelfth tale in a series of stories about data. I hope you enjoy the series.

Today’s tale relates to a SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) package. It used the same architecture as other packages and on the same server, and even though it said it was successful, nothing happened. Let’s discuss why.

Some background information

At the site, a separate SSIS server (using an earlier version of SQL Server i.e., 2014) had been deployed. The server was used to run all the organization’s SSIS packages. These packages connected to several data sources:

2025-11-17

I’ve heard people lately discussing the Save icon and how it’s not relevant now. The Save icons that are a picture of a 3 1/2 inch floppy disk are basically meaningless today.

I did have to laugh when I heard a kid who saw a 3 1/2 inch floppy for the first time comment that someone had made “a physical save icon”. I suppose that’s how it seemed to him.

2025-11-16

Several times, I’ve seen situations where a user who’s working interactively in SSMS ends up causing deadlocks and causing issues for an application that’s in use. This is even more likely for users who hold locks for long periods of time, and who work directly with production systems.

At best, they might just cause an application to hang. At worst, they might cause a poorly-designed application to terminate.

Why would a user hold locks for a long time? Many users work in what’s called chained mode, where they automatically start a transaction when they make any sort of update. Some other database engines default to that behavior, but you can choose that as a session option in SQL Server as well.

2025-11-15