Database Nonsense - Unstructured Data
Sloppy terminology leads to big misunderstandings. Terms don't get much sloppier than "Unstructured data".
2016-10-25
582 reads
Don Peterson
Is XML the Answer?
New Author! Don Peterson writes his first article for us and explores why he considers XML to be...bad! There are some interesting points made here and if you've haven't thought about what XML means to you as a DBA, it's a subject worth spending some time on.
2008-05-02 (first published: 2003-10-07)
64,757 reads
Thoughts on the PASS Summit
The 2007 PASS Summit is coming up in September and you can register early and save now, but is it worth going? Longtime author and successful DBA Don Peterson brings us a few thoughts on last year's Summit and the benefits of attending.
2007-02-19
1,896 reads
Beware of Search Argument (SARG) Data Types
Performance tuning often seems like it can be more of an art than a science. However there are a number of fundamentals that can help you tune most of the queries that you will write or have issues with their performance. Don Peterson brings us a look at how he tuned a query in the real world to avoid a conversion that can cause a query to run slower.
2006-07-13
11,864 reads
Lookup Table Madness
Are you mad? Not angry, more like crazy when it comes to designing databases in SQL Server? Don Peterson has met a few people he thinks are just that when it comes to building lookup tables. Does it stem from poor understanding of database design? Or do you disagree? Read Don's case against this particular design practice.
2006-03-24 (first published: 2004-09-08)
52,299 reads
All About Transactions - Part 3
Transactions in SQL Server are probably no more complicated than those in other RDBMS products, which is to say they are fairly complex. Don Peterson continues with part 3 of his series and takes a look at transaction isolation levels and how they interact with multiple connections and their impact on locking.
2004-12-02
15,938 reads
All About Transactions - Part 2
Transactions in SQL Server can be very complicated, and are often misunderstood. Don Peterson brings us part 2 of his series on transactions. This part deals with XACT_ABORT, compilation errors and error handling in transactions.
2004-11-24
19,712 reads
All About Transactions - Part 1
The heart of an RDBMS is the transaction system that it employs. SQL Server has a great one that can easily be misunderstood or misused by those that haven't spent time delving into the details of how it works. Don Peterson has done that and brings us the start of a new series on the details of how transactions work in SQL Server.
2004-11-15
24,914 reads
Blogs
Flyway Tips: AI Deployment Script Descriptions
By Steve Jones
With the AI push being everywhere, Redgate is no exception. We’ve been getting requests,...
A New Word: Fawtle
By Steve Jones
fawtle – n. a weird little flaw built into your partner that somehow only...
Post-quantum key exchange – Insurance policy for your packets
AWS recently added support for Post-Quantum Key Exchange for TLS in Application Load Balancer...
Forums
Where Your Value Separates You from Others
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Where Your Value Separates You...
Fixing the Error
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Fixing the Error
T-SQL in SQL Server 2025: Encoding Functions
Comments posted to this topic are about the item T-SQL in SQL Server 2025:...
Question of the Day
Fixing the Error
On SQL Server 2025, I have a database that has this collation: SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS. I decide I want to run this code:
SELECT UNISTR('*3041*308A*304C*3068 and good night', '*') AS 'A Classic';
I get this error:Msg 9844, Level 16, State 4, Line 24 The char/varchar input type uses an unsupported collation. Only a UTF8 collation is supported with char/varchar input type in UNISTR function.What is the easiest way to fix this error? See possible answers