This site is intended for those who are beginning to use SQL Server as part of their day-to-day activities.  You will find in this site a collection of useful functions, triggers, stored procedures and tips and tricks related to SQL Server.

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How to Determine the Recovery Model of a Database

SELECT DATABASEPROPERTYEX('AdventureWorks', 'Recovery')

What's New in SQL Server 2012

• What's New in SQL Server 2012
• SQL Server 2012 Editions and Licensing - Frequently Asked Questions
• SQL Server 2012 Programmability Datasheet
• SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services Datasheet
• SQL Server 2012 Master Data Services Datasheet
• SQL Server 2012 Data Mining Datasheet
• SQL Server 2012 High Availability Datasheet
• SQL Server 2012 Maximum Capacity Specifications
• SQL Server 2012 Server Configuration Options

SQL Server 2012 Articles

• SQL Server 2012 New Date Functions
• SQL Server 2012 New String Functions
• SQL Server 2012 New Logical Functions (CHOOSE and IIF)
• SQL Server 2012 FORMAT String Function Culture
• SQL Server 2012 Date Formats Using the FORMAT Function and CONVERT Function

What's New in SQL Server 2008

A collection of articles related to what's new with SQL Server 2008:

• Compound Operators
• Multiple Value Inserts Within a Single INSERT Statement
• Row Constructor (or Table-Valued Constructor) as Derived Table
• MERGE Statement
• Table-Valued Parameters

SQL Server 2008 Articles

A collection of articles related to SQL Server 2008:

• Error in Importing/Exporting Geography/Geometry Columns in SQL Server 2008 Management Studio
• SQL Server 2008 to Windows Server 2008 Connection Error 1326
• Store Locator Using Geography Data Type
• Convert Latitude/Longitude (Lat/Long) to Geography Point
• MERGE Statement With Table-Valued Parameters
• SqlConnection Connection String
• SQL Server 2008 Date Formats

Date Functions

A collection of useful user-defined functions that deal with dates.

• Determine the age of a person as of today given the birthdate.
• Determine if it is a leap year.
• Get the first day of the week, first day of the month or first day of the quarter
• Get the last day of the month.
• Get the number of days in a month or the number of days in a year.

String Functions

A collection of useful user-defined functions that deal with strings (varchar/char/nvarchar/nchar).

• Count the number of times a given character occur in a given string.
• Count the number of times a given search string exists in a given input string.
• Count the number of words in a given input string.
• Emulate the behavior of Oracle's InitCap string function, which changes the first letter of each word in uppercase and all others in lowercase.
• Encrypt an input string using a simple encryption algorithm.
• Trim the leading zeros from a given alphanumeric value.

Tree Functions

A collection of useful user-defined functions that deal with tree or hierarchical design structures.

• Get the path of a particular node from the parent within a hierarchy/tree-type table structure.
• Determine the level of a particular node within the hierarchy/tree-type table structure.

Table-Valued Functions

A collection of useful table-valued user-defined functions that can be used to join with other tables.

• Generate a table of integer values from 1 to the maximum input value.
• Generate a table containing the individual values in a comma-delimited/comma-separated value.

SQL Server Built-in Functions

A reference to all built-in functions available within SQL Server grouped into categories.

• SQL Server Aggregate Functions
• SQL Server Configuration Functions
• SQL Server Date and Time Functions
• SQL Server Mathematical Functions
• SQL Server String Functions

A collection of useful SQL Server-related tips and tricks:

• Returning a comma-delimited output without the use of cursors.
• Easily identify missing identity values.
• Generate random numbers without using the RAND function.
• Generate random records from any table.
• Sort IP addresses that are stored as VARCHAR by their numeric values.
• Different ways of splitting a full name to get the first name and last name.
• Query/read and import an Excel file without using DTS and without importing the data to a SQL table.
• Execute a batch of .sql scripts located in a specific directory without manually opening and executing them through Query Analyzer.
• Convert datetime values into different date formats.
• Compare the SET command against the SELECT statement when assigning values to local variables.

SQL Server Error Messages

A list of SQL Server error messages and for certain error messages, discusses ways on how to solve the error or work around them:

SQL Server

A collection of frequently asked questions about SQL Server grouped by categories:

• Frequently Asked Questions - SQL Server Tables
• Frequently Asked Questions - SQL Server Data Types
• Frequently Asked Questions - SQL Server Dates (DateTime / SmallDateTime)
• Frequently Asked Questions - SQL Server Views
• Frequently Asked Questions - SELECT Statement
• Frequently Asked Questions - INSERT Statement
• Frequently Asked Questions - SQL Server Error Messages
• Frequently Asked Questions - SQL Server Equivalent of Oracle Functions

SQL Server 2005

A collection of frequently asked questions about SQL Server 2005 grouped by categories:

• Frequently Asked Questions - SQL Server 2005 Express Edition
• Frequently Asked Questions - VARCHAR(MAX), NVARCHAR(MAX), VARBINARY(MAX)