Retrieving a return value from a stored procedure using the Entity Framework DBContext.Database class

I was trying to figure out how to call a stored procedure and then retrieve the return value using the Entity Framework in .NET.      Entity Framework is designed to be an ORM layer, so it doesn’t really have… Read More

Finding crap in the SQL Server database

Anyone who has ever maintained an old legacy code base often finds themselves working with a decade old database schema that now spans hundreds of tables, each of which contain dozens of columns. Trying to locate a particular… Read More

TSQL PIVOT

The TSQL PIVOT command is an operation that essentially rotates a set of table data. The end result is a transform that converts columns into rows. One common usage of PIVOT is to normalize denormalized data. This may… Read More

MCTS EXAM 70-433: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Database Development

This year I decided to get a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Database Developer Certification (MCTS EXAM 70-433). While I was doing consulting work at Avanade, getting at least one new certification was an annual requirement. I ended up… Read More

Quick and dirty table import hack for SQL Server

Every so often, I’ve needed to import data from the QA/Staging database table onto my local machine to help troubleshoot a hard to repro bug. Typically, I only need to import a few table’s worth of data, so… Read More

TSQL query the missing gaps in a table

I’m currently studying to get a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Database Development Certificate and am going through their official 70$ 400 + page training kit. It covers a wide variety of topics, one of them being how to… Read More