Copilot Code Review and the 4,000 Character Limit
Here is a fun way to lose an afternoon: carefully write coding standards into your repository’s .github/copilot-instructions.md, request a Copilot code review on a pull request that violates several of them, and watch the review…
Getting Your AI Agent to Actually Follow Your Instructions
There is a special kind of frustration in watching an AI agent cheerfully do the exact thing your instructions file tells it not to do. You wrote the rule. The rule is right there. The…
Scalar UDFs vs Inline TVFs: Measuring the Damage
Scalar user-defined functions are the most natural thing in the world to write. You have a bit of logic, you wrap it in a function, you call it in your SELECT list, and your query…
What Reaches Outside Your Database? sys.dm_db_uncontained_entities
Every database likes to pretend it is self-contained. Then you restore it onto another instance and discover the stored procedure that queries a sister database, the synonym pointing at a linked server, the login-mapped user…
The Guard Clauses Your Index Rebuild Script Needs
Writing a loop that rebuilds fragmented indexes takes about ten minutes. Writing one you can safely leave running unattended at 2 AM takes considerably longer, and the difference is entirely in the guard clauses: the…