It’s Memorial Day in the US and a holiday. With a busy schedule, I didn’t realize this was a holiday and started to schedule some things before my wife reminded me.
So while I tackle some chores, you get a republish of More Linux than Windows.
Category: Editorial
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Does Version Control Scare You
As a part of my job, I often work with customers on how they can get database code into a version control system. That’s Git for the most part today, which is the most popular system in the world. I’m comfortable using Git for many basic tasks, but I am not an expert by any means. I’ve used version control for years, and quite a few systems, and I like Git as a way of managing code.
I have been surprised how many people aren’t comfortable with version control or Git. Many don’t have the habit, but are amenable to it. What I’m amazed by in 2025 is how many people don’t use it, given that so many tools we use to work with databases, and even other systems, will store items in Git. This isn’t just for development code, but also for infrastructure code. Lots of data tools and servers can store data in Git and use it to deploy changes to all kinds of systems. I’d have expected more people to know Git.
As a part of my charity work, I manage the SQL Saturday site, which is stored in a public GitHub repo and all changes are submitted through pull requests to make changes to the site. A few organizers will fork the repo and submit changes to me as pull requests. I love those as I can approve those on my phone. A very few organizers can merge their own changes, as they’ve built up trust. I am, however, surprised at how few people are willing to do any Git work.
It seems that so many data professionals don’t want to use or learn Git. I’d have thought this was a core skill for many technical people these days. At least the core ability to clone, branch, commit, and create pull requests. Squashing commits, rebasing, and more can be challenging, but often there will be someone in your organization that can help you if you need to perform those actions.
I wonder if you are intimidated by version control, or if you find yourself too busy to use it, or maybe you don’t think it’s valuable. I am curious what you think today.
I’ve written about how to use Git in ADS (don’t do that anymore), but those instructions work for VS Code. I’ve written a bit about how DBAs can start using Git. If you don’t like the CLI, there are many thick clients, which are easy to use. Give Git a try today and see how it might help you manage and version your code, your scripts, your documentation.
Steve Jones
Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.
Note, podcasts are only available for a limited time online.
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The AI View From Above
It likely isn’t a surprise to many of you that executives like AI. A survey shows that 74% of executives surveyed have greater confidence in AI-generated insights than advice from colleagues or friends. At the board level, even more (85%) favor AI-driven advice.
That’s amazing to me, and while I might think this is a bit too much trust being placed in these GenAI LLMs, perhaps it’s also partially because they work with too many people who aren’t great at their jobs. Plenty of people skim through data or focus on certain things and might miss the details. While an AI can read and summarize a lot, it might not have the context we expect. I tend to be a bit skeptical of AI summaries, often because they don’t necessarily weigh the different parts of an article the same way that I do. However, they can be helpful.
Even more interesting, 44% of executives say they would trust a GenAI to override their decisions based on insights, and 38% would trust AI to make decisions on their behalf. Business decisions based on data, or conclusions from a lot of inputs are different than producing working code, so I don’t know how accurate these models might be in this context. I do know that I want experienced people reviewing and judging GenAI outputs, and I would not allow an AI to override me without my input.
However, I wouldn’t just discount a GenAI recommendation. I tend to have strong opinions, but loosely held. I’ll change if there is evidence or a good argument to do so. It’s possible a GenAI might see things I miss and produce an insight that gets me to change a decision.
What’s a bit scary about the stats from this survey is that many executives see a skills gap in their staff, and their trust in GenAI might lead them to replace or augment existing staff with more GenAI tools. They might expect hiring can be delayed or slowed (or eliminated) with GenAI filling gaps. This might be especially true as many tech companies talk about how GenAI tools are making them more efficient.
That means that tech professionals should consider a few things. First, learn to work with GenAI tools and use them to prove your value to an organization. This includes learning when not to use them. Second, continue to improve your skills to ensure you can judge Gen AI results and emphasize that you are still the expert. Lastly, as the technology improves, consider adding some skills in how to train an AI to be a better assistant for you. The more efficient you are, especially with a GenAI helper, the more likely you are to impress executives and managers that are choosing which staff to keep.
Steve Jones
Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.
Note, podcasts are only available for a limited time online.
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Are Data Breaches Inevitable?
I read a piece recently that got me thinking that data breaches might be inevitable. Disclosure: This was written by Redgate, for whom I work, titled “Data breaches May Be Inevitable—Compliance Failures Don’t Have to Be“. It’s based on our research with the State of Database Landscape survey as well as feedback and conversations with customers.
The thing that caught my eye was the first part: data breaches may be inevitable. Do you think that’s true? Are we doomed to lose data in our organizations, not as a possibility, but something that will happen at some unknown time in the future? Those of you who have suffered breaches might agree with this, but for those of you who haven’t had to deal with that situation, are you resigned to it happening at some point?
I’ve gone through phases in my career. In a few jobs I worried about this. When we started SQL Server Central, we were very careful and cautious, trying to be sure we wouldn’t be caught losing email addresses of the community members. We never had an issue, and I’m proud of that. These days at Redgate, I worry a bit more, mostly because we’re growing and it only takes one person to click on a phishing email to cause problems. Fortunately our IT group is on the ball and even conducts plenty of “mystery shopper” email campaigns to test our awareness with follow-ups to help ensure people are aware and careful with how we handle data.
The criminals always have an advantage in that they are focused and only have to take advantage of one mistake to win. We have to constantly be vigilant, across all our staffers and systems. Simple mistakes, or worse, typos in complex configuration files could result in a data breach. One of the places this can happen is in test/dev environments where more people the make changes. If we have sensitive data in those places, we’re increasing our risk.
I don’t think breaches are inevitable, mostly because companies are getting better at simple security measures and reducing the ways in which unauthorized access takes place. There’s also the fact that the world is huge and there are more and more systems all the time, which might reduce our chances of the criminals targeting us. Don’t get complacent, as automation gives criminals a tool to attack us at scale, in the same way it lets us get more done with less.
One criminal can do a lot of damage, so remember that the next time you’re annoyed by your MFA or other security measures.
Steve Jones
Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.
Note, podcasts are only available for a limited time online.
