SQL Derived Table from Values

Josh,

So you have a small set of data you want to use in a query.  The data is static and temporary in nature so you don't really want to store it in a table.  A derived table from values might do the trick!

Install MDS Plugin for Excel 2010

Josh,

So, you were attempting to install the Master Data Services Plugin for Excel, but couldn't get the install to actually process due to it saying the prerequisites are not installed:

You have made sure you have the right version (32 bit) to match the version of excel (2010), and have the full version of .net 4.5 installed. If you try to install the full version of .net 4.0, you are told that the newer (4.5) version already is installed.

SSRS Multi-Value Parameter Performance Issue

Josh,

So you've built a report off a query that uses a multi-value parameter and you've defaulted the parameter to use every option from a dataset.  This works fine for a few values, but when the multi-value parameter contains hundreds, the query is dreadfully slow!

The solution is to add a default value to ignore your parameter in the query...

SQL Get Column Data Counts Procedure

Josh,

So you are reviewing a data set and want to know the unique values of a column and how many times they occur in the table.  Use this nifty procedure instead of re-writing it each time:

SSRS Alternating Row Colors in Matrix

Josh,

So you've added a Matrix in SSRS and want to have alternating row colors.  You've found the RunningValue function useful, but when there isn't data in some of the columns, the alternating colors start getting wacky:

Here's what you did to get the row colors looking right...

Create Hash of Multiple Columns

Josh,

So, you need to compare several columns of one table to several columns of another.  Perhaps you are checking to see if data has changed before updating a row, or you need to track if multiple columns have changed.  Besides doing a bunch of AND statements, a nifty feature of SQL is the HASHBYTES function.

Search for Table Columns Using the System Schema

Josh,

So you want to search if a column exists in another table, but can't remember which table.  Here's a handy script to be able to search a specific schema for a certain column name: