(David VanDeSompele) As much as we try and prevent it, duplicate data still finds its way into corporate data systems, but the good news is that purging duplicate rows can be a relatively simple task.

(Gregory A. Larsen) In my first article in this series, I discussed different aspects of entering date/time data into SQL Server DATETIME and SMALLDATE columns. This article will expand my discussion of date/time data by exploring how to use different SQL Server functions to display dates and times

(Susan Sales Harkins, Arthur Fuller) Globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) distinguish hardware, software, and users. Originally, Microsoft designed the GUID value for use with ActiveX controls; Windows uses a 128-bit GUID to identify ActiveX controls. A 48-bit version generates an Ethernet adapter ad

The profile for the replication agent has a ‘query timeout’ value that can be changed to ensure that the queries have sufficient time to complete. Read more about this option in this article.

(Paul Krill) Microsoft at its Professional Developers Conference 2003 discussed intentions to add an XML data type to its SQL Server database, with the Yukon release of the product planned for late 2004. Read more about this new feature in this article.

(Rob Volk) Hierarchies are sometimes difficult to store in SQL tables…things like trees, threaded forums, org charts and the like…and it’s usually even harder to retrieve the hierarchy once you do store it. Here’s a method that’s easy to understand and maintain, and gives you the full hierarchy

By Margie Semilof – After two decades with the same underlying technology, SQL Server is in need of a facelift, Microsoft says. At the Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft vice president Gordon Mangione revealed some early features of Yukon, the next version of the database management syste

Recursive techniques in stored procedures in T-SQL offer you a powerful way to analyze your database and return results from queries. See how in this article from SQL Server Professional Magazine.

By Barbara Darrow – Microsoft’s Yukon got its moment in the spotlight at the company’s Professional Developers Conference with public demonstrations of the product’s built-in development and debugging capabilities. In addition to previously reported perks, such as built-in reporting services

By Vyas Kondreddi – This article shows you different ways for finding out the service pack installed on your SQL Server. Contains a nice chart with SQL Server build numbers along with the corresponding service pack numbers.