“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.” ~Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

These words were spoken by India’s first Prime Minister as part of a speech delivered in the Constituent Assembly, New Delhi, on August 14, 1947, on the eve of the attainment of Independence. Today is India’s 64th Independence Day, and a time to remember the thousands of individuals who laid down their lives in the struggle for independence.

It is a holiday here in India, and if you are working today, I hope that you get to go home on time (if not early) and that you have an otherwise uneventful Monday. I am also on a long-pending holiday. It’s been non-stop work since the last 1.5 years and I was on the edge of pulling my hair out!

I will therefore, present a selection from the posts that I have written till date. These may not have the highest read counts, but they are somehow near & dear to my heart. Some have even come as a result of a query that you, the kind and respected reader, a friend or a colleague might have asked.

Posts:

1. CAST v/s CONVERT – A Performance Comparison
2. CAST v/s CONVERT – Is there a difference as far as SQL Server is concerned? Which is better?
3. Measuring the number of rows in a table – Are there any alternatives to COUNT(*)?
4. The multiple connections of SSMS
5. SQL Server Myth- Log files are removed when a database is made READ_ONLY
6. “GO” as Batch Separator – Customize batch separator in SSMS & SQLCMD – What would you use instead of GO?
7. The Ghost of the Y2K
8. UNIX timestamp and the Year 2038 problem
9. Questions from you!
• “Ad hoc update to system catalogs is not supported.” when using RECONFIGURE
• Clearing SSMS History
10. Other contributions:
• Securing TRUNCATE permissions in Microsoft SQL Server – SQLAuthority.com
• Connection Strings 101 – SQLServerCentral.com
• Deleting large number of rows from a table & a heap in a VLDB – SQLServerCentral.com
• Guest Post for Pinal’s series on Interview Questions & Answers – SQLAuthority.com

Series:

1. Underappreciated features of Microsoft SQL Server
2. VTD Recorded session & PPT – Learn Underappreciated Features of Microsoft SQL Server
3. Tech-Ed India 2011 – Part 01, Part 02, Part 03
4. T-SQL Worst Practices – a compilation from Jacob’s session at Tech-Ed 2011 – Part 01, Part 02, Part 03
5. T-SQL Debugging
• Enabling the Debugger
• Basic debugging demo
• Troubleshooting T-SQL Debugger – Connection Errors & Firewall warnings, MSDBG2.dll

On this day, I urge you all to Be courteous, Drive responsibly.