The Wild Developers of SQL Server like Wildcards
Phil Factor explains the enduring attachment of database developers to wildcards, despite their current deficiencies.
2025-03-17 (first published: 2018-12-17)
452 reads
Phil Factor
- Interests: Motorbikes, Beer, gardening, conservation, Local history.
On Looking and Acting the Part
Phil Factor's offers tips for longevity in the world of IT consultancy: listen well, humiliate no-one and convince others that it was their expertise that solved the problem.
2024-12-27 (first published: 2020-01-18)
411 reads
Potholes in the Road of Progress
Phil Factor looks at some technologists more famous for thwarting progress than for their own creations.
2022-09-02 (first published: 2017-07-17)
296 reads
Malleable Source Control
Git has proved to be a better fit to the needs and workflow of a database development team than anything that came before. Git is valuable because it encourages branching and merging, giving more choice in the way that your team can work. Due to the ease with which you can adapt Git, there is […]
2021-04-03
143 reads
2020-12-12
300 reads
Presenting the Facts about Data Breaches
If you're faced by an investigation team, after a data breach, it is no use putting on your 'Mr. Sincerity' face and making vague statements. They want documented facts.
2020-11-14
153 reads
Responding to the Call of the Wild
Phil Factor's manual for taming machines, applications, and other wild beasts.
2020-10-17
123 reads
Coping with a working life as an imposter
It is not existing knowledge but the skill of acquiring new knowledge rapidly that will help you overcome imposter syndrome.
2020-09-19
321 reads
Of Hedgehogs and Database Design
One of the finest songs of the sixties had the following lines … "Sitting one day by myself, And I'm thinking, "What could be wrong?" When this funny little Hedgehog comes running up to me, And it starts up to sing me this song. Oh, you know all the words, and you sung all the […]
2020-08-22
361 reads
2020-06-27
205 reads
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Question of the Day
How Many Can Be the Greatest
I am trying to analyze a number of columns in a large table to determine the highest value for each row. In SQL Server 2022, we have the GREATEST function, which will return the greatest value from those columns passed in. How many columns can I include in an expression like this:
select GREATEST( col1, col2, col3, ...)See possible answers