We are deeply saddened to share the news that Andrew Clarke, better known to Simple-Talk readers as Phil Factor, recently passed away. He was the site’s editor for several years and continued writing for Redgate long after. Many readers will have learned much of what they know about SQL from Andrew. Others will remember working with him on articles, benefiting from his sharp wit and knowledge, or perhaps meeting him at a PASS conference. To all who knew him, he was a uniquely talented, intelligent, kind, generous, and funny man.
I don’t think I ever met Andrew in person, but I loved his Phil Factor articles. I appreciated all of the work he would put into his testbenches, as well as the irreverent humor he’d sprinkle through. I think my favorite article he ever wrote was this one on the entity-attribute-value anti-pattern in T-SQL and how its siren-like allure drags wave after wave of developers to their doom.
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