// archive
Tag: SQL Server
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Outwit, Outplay, Outlast: GUIDs as Primary Keys in 2026
I’ve had the unique opportunity recently to talk with a few different companies about their technical challenges. During one of those conversations, GUIDs as primary keys came up. I wasn’t really prepared to speak at length about it at the moment but I think I mentioned that the primary key defaults to the clustered key…
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Why You Absolutely Need Alternate Keys: A Unique Constraint Story
Although often forgotten, alternate keys are an essential part of database design especially if you’re using surrogate keys. Alternate keys protect your database from duplicate data and can even speed up your application. For the past few years I’ve been presenting on the top database design mistakes that I’ve seen “in the wild”. One of those “mistakes”…
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Unraveling the mysteries of NewSequentialID
A few months ago we started development on a new system. From the ground up we redesigned everything from our business processes to how we store data. Part of the redesign was deciding on using SOA technology in our middle tier. This will allow us to separate our UI from our middle tier even further.…