I always prefer to use COM scripting from within TSQL for this sort of job. It is, however, perfectly simple to arrange your database security so that the use of xp_cmdshell is not dangerous. I have to admit that my only real criticism of this article is the title. It is not file-handling, and it is not different. It is one of the oldest tricks used by grey-muzzled SQL Server/Sybase DBAs. It is a rather limited method, though, when trying to write the '>' character to a file, or writing long lines.