Tag Archives: Presentations

Lightning Talk: SELECT Doesn’t Always Return the Expected Number of Columns

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Last night, I had the privilege of sharing a lightning talk at the OKC SQL Server User Group (OKCSQL). This 17-minute presentation touches on four scenarios where the way columns are returned by SELECT might not match what you expect.

When you write SELECT statements, you probably have expectations like:

  • SELECT * returns all columns in the referenced object(s).
  • Each column is returned in a separate column.
  • Each column returned in visible in the result set.

However—at least in the world of Microsoft SQL Server/Transact SQL (T-SQL)—these assumptions aren’t always true.


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T-SQL on the Wire: What takes place between client and server?

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The answer to this question might shed light on some Microsoft® SQL Server® mysteries, might answer—or raise—security concerns and might help you administer, develop and debug better.

In this presentation, learn about Tabular Data Stream (TDS)—the protocol used for client-to-SQL Server interactions. In addition to a  high-level understanding of how TDS works, you’ll (hopefully!) come away with practical applications of this knowledge that should benefit you as a database administrator or developer.