How to replace NULL with Empty String in SQL Server? ISNULL() vs COALESCE() Examples

We often need to replace NULL values with empty String or blank in SQL e.g. while concatenating String. In SQL Server, when you concatenate a NULL String with another non-null String the result is NULL, which means you lose the information you already have. To prevent this, you can replace NULL with empty String while concatenating. There are two ways to replace NULL with blank values in SQL Server, function ISNULL(), and COALESCE(). Both functions replace the value you provide when the argument is NULL like ISNULL(column, '') will return empty String if the column value is NULL.

Top 5 Courses to Learn Python 3 in 2024 - Best of Lot

If you are a Programmer or a Computer Science graduate and thinking of learning Python in 2024, then you have come to the right place. In this article, I am going to share some of the best online courses to learn Python 3 in 2024. Python is one of the most popular programming languages, and it's used in many domains, like Web development, Automation, Data Science, Machine learning, etc. In recent years, Python has also become a default language for Data Science and Machine learning Projects, and that's another reason why many experienced programmers are learning Python in 2024.

10 Books Every Java Programmer Should Read - Best of Lot, Must Read

If you are a Java programmer and wondering what to read to improve your knowledge of Java and become a better Java developer, then you have come to the right place. In this article, I am going to share some of the best Java books ever written. In fact, this is my list of all-time great Java books. They have withstood the test of time and emerges as more and more successful years after years. It doesn't matter if you read them this year or reading them next year, you are always going to learn a lot, and that's why I call them all-time great books.

The OCAJP 1Z0-808 - Best Books and Mock Exams for Java 8 OCA Certification

From the last couple of months, I have been helping a few developers to prepare for Java 8 associate certification with exam code 1Z0-808, also known as OCAJP 8. From my experience, both for preparing for Sun certification and helping other developers to get Java certified, I can say that two keys to be successful in Oracle Java SE certification are choosing an excellent study guide/course and buying one or two top quality mock exam simulators. When I say success, it doesn't mean just passing the exam but scoring above 90% because passing score 65% is not very difficult to achieve and anybody can pass OCAJP 8 by just a couple of month of practice but to score 90% and above is not that easy, you need to prepare and prepare hard.

2 Books to Prepare Oracle Java Certification Exams - OCA and OCP Java SE 6,7, 8 OCPJP 8

There was a time when Sun Certification was very hot and programmers feel proud of being Sun Certified Java Professional(SCJP). After Oracle took over Sun in early 2010, it changed names of all the examination from SCJP to OCPJP or OCJP, and now OCA and OCP for Java SE 7 and Java SE 8. I see there is a lot of confusion among certification nowadays, but essentially they are of the same level at previous SCJP. Since Java gets new language features with every new release, subsequently a new certification title is introduced. I am not agreed with upgrading your Java certification with every release, it doesn't make much sense to me, but many programmers prefer to get certified and keep it updated.

Top 10 Free Java Programming Books, EBooks and PDF for Beginners and Experienced Programmers

Who doesn't like free stuff? Well, I do like and many Java programmers like me simply love free Java books, eBooks, and PDFs. Fortunately, the Internet is full of free books and eBooks but unfortunately, many of them are of not good quality. Most of the eBooks which are freely available either are sample chapters of popular Java programming books or they are simply old and out-of-date. In my last article, I have shared a lot of such books and the feedback was that most of them, even though they are good in the past, have simply not up to the mark. The search goes on and while browsing the net a couple of days back I hit the jackpot when I found these free Java books from O'Reilly.

5 Reasons to Use Composition over Inheritance in Java and OOP - Example

Favor composition over inheritance is one of the popular object-oriented design principles, which helps to create flexible and maintainable code in Java and other object-oriented languages. Many times I have seen people suggesting use composition instead of inheritance, in fact, my favorite books like Head First Design Patterns also advocate this design principle. The Head First books have their own way of explaining, why composition is better than inheritance, and though it's long it's quite interesting and informative. It was the first chapter of this book, which helped me a lot in understanding this key OOP concept. 

Difference between char, varchar, nchar and nvarchar data types in SQL Server? Example

What is the difference between char and varchar in SQL, followed by nchar and nvarchar, is one of the popular SQL interview questions, and surprisingly not every programmer knows this basic difference. If you go with the name, which you should, then you can figure out that char is a fixed-length data type while varchar should be a variable-length data type. Though all char, varchar, nchar, and nvarchar are used to store text or String data there are subtle differences between them. As I said char is fixed length, which means a variable or a column like Zipcode char(10) will take only 10 bytes to store data, including space.

Top 5 Books to Learn SQL and Database Design for Programmers and DBAs - Best of Lot

The database design and modeling are one of those topics which rarely get the attention they deserve, especially at the start of the project, but once things have gone out of hand, then everybody talks about them. Comments like - this database is designed poorly, the schema is not performing well, you cannot add a new column easily, etc. becomes very common. The most problem with database design is that it is mainly done by application developers like Java or C++ developer who knows SQL, but they are not the expert on how to design tables and schema. 

Top 6 Courses to learn D3.js for Data Visualization with JavaScript in 2024 - Best of Lot

If you have done any Data visualization work then you might have heard about D3 - one of the excellent JavaScript libraries, which allows you to create beautiful interactive data visualization for the web. It's prevalent among Data Scientists and Data Analysts who often need these visualizations and charts to present data insights to stakeholders and business people. If you are not familiar with D3, no need to worry because, In this article, I am going to share some of the awesome courses to learn D3 in 2024. These courses teach you the basics of data visualization with D3 by binding data to a web page’s elements and customizing the elements based on that very data. You will also learn how to build different kinds of charts like Bar charts, Pie charts, Mind maps, etc using D3.js

Top 7 Object Oriented Programming and Design Courses for Java Programmers in 2024 - Best of Lot

There is no doubt that Object-oriented programming is a pillar of software development and one of the reasons for the massive success of Java. Good knowledge of Object-oriented programming helps you to create better software. It also allows you to communicate your ideas better with your team members and fellow programmers. Despite being such an important technology, it's difficult to find programmers who understand OOP well. Many programmers just think that OOP is nothing more than Abstraction, Inheritance, Encapsulation, and Polymorphism, without genuinely understanding these concepts and mastering them.

Top 8 Courses to learn Microsoft Azure Cloud in 2024 - Best of Lot

Hello guys, if you want to learn about the Microsoft Azure Cloud Platform, you have come to the right place. In the past, I have shared the best courses to pass Azure Fundamentals, Azure Administrator, and Azure Architect certifications. Today, I will share the best online course to learn the Azure platform for Beginners. These are top-quality courses from expert trainers and instructors and are picked from Udemy, Coursera, and edX. You can use these courses to learn Microsoft Azure core services and prepare for different Microsoft Azure certifications like AZ-900, AZ-303, and AZ-20 Azure developer associate certification.

Observer design Pattern in Java with Real world code Example

Observer design pattern in Java is a fundamental core Java pattern where Observe watches for any change in state or property of Subject. For Example, Company updates all its shareholders for any decision they make here Company is Subject and Shareholders are Observers, any change in the policy of company and the Company notifies all its Shareholders or Observer. This was a simple real-world explanation of the Observer pattern. 

Top 8 Courses to learn Reactive Spring Boot and WebFlux in 2024 - Best of Lot

Hello Java programmers, if you want to learn Reactive Programming with Spring Boot and WebFlux and are looking for some online courses to start with, you have come to the right place. Earlier, I have shared the best Spring Courses and best Spring Boot courses, and today, I will share the best online course to learn Reactive Programming with Spring Boot and Web Flux. In recent times, Reactive programming has become very popular. It is a programming paradigm that focuses on an asynchronous, event-driven, non-blocking approach for processing data which paves for writing a next-generation scalable web application in Java.  This means a thorough knowledge of reactive programming is a must for creating scalable web applications, and that's why Java developers need to learn reactive programming. 

DesignGuru.io Review - Is Grokking Advanced System Design Interview Course Worth it?

Hello guys, Before I give my review of DesignGuru's Grokking Advanced System Design Interview course, let me tell you a little bit more about this course so that we are on the same page. As you must already know if you have ever gone through for a software engineering interview, system design questions are an integral part of the process. System design plays a very important part as it is considered more important than solving coding problems. And in order to impress your potential employers, you have to be able to show your real design skills and convince them that you are able to work with complex design systems.