DevOps and the DBA
Michael Fal is a huge advocate of automation and many ways it can improve the lives of developers and DBAs alike, but you can’t just automate all your problems...
2015-05-20
8,468 reads
Additional Articles
Testing SQL Server Backup Performance with Trace Flag 3042
Starting with SQL Server 2008 a new feature which allowed us to create compressed backup files by pre-allocating space. This tip will look at the performance impacts of disabling pre-allocation of space using the 3042 SQL Server trace flag.
2015-05-19
6,584 reads
Documenting your SQL Server Database
One of the shocks that a developer can get when starting to program in T-SQL is that there is no simple way of generating documentation for routines, structures and interfaces, in the way that Javadocs or Doxygen provides. To embed the documentation in the source is so obvious and easy that it is a wrench to be without this facility. Phil Factor suggests a solution.
2015-05-18
9,083 reads
Automating Day-to-Day PowerShell Admin Tasks - Jobs and Workflow
If you are aiming to optimise the use of your time by doing as much as possible via scripting, you will soon want to run scripts in parallel to save time. PowerShell does not demand that you run jobs one after the other; It has the means to launch actions whenever you wish and to obtain the results when you want them.
2015-05-15
9,082 reads
T-SQL Programming Part 14 - Using the TOP Clause with UPDATE, INSERT and DELETE Statements
Learn how to use the TOP clause in conjunction with the UPDATE, INSERT and DELETE statements.
2015-05-14
11,622 reads
How to Get SQL Server Security Horribly Wrong
It is no good doing some or most of the aspects of SQL Server security right. You have to get them all right, because any effective penetration of your security is likely to spell disaster. If you fail in any of the ways that Robert Sheldon lists and describes, then you can't assume that your data is secure, and things are likely to go horribly wrong.
2015-05-13
9,527 reads
How To Calculate Behavioral Streaks in SQL Server Data
In this tip, Tim Smith demonstrates how to measure a behavioral streak with SQL Server, an important skill for determining ROI and extrapolating trends.
2015-05-12
7,471 reads
Making Data Analytics Simpler: SQL Server and R
R an SQL Server are a match made in heaven. You don't need anything special to get started beyond the basic instructions. Once you have jumped the hurdle of reliably and quickly transferring data between R and SQL Server you are ready to discover the power of a relational database when when combined with statistical computing and graphics.
2015-05-11
9,421 reads
RESTful SignalR Service
This article explains how to expose SignalR feature through an ASP.NET Web API, which helps applications that can use REST service and to broadcast a real time message to their clients.
2015-05-08
8,332 reads
Alan Cooper: Geek of the Week
Alan Cooper helped to debug the most widely-used PC language of the late seventies and early eighties, BASIC-E, and, with Keith Parsons, developed C-BASIC. He then went on to create Tripod, which morphed eventually into Visual Basic in 1991. Alan remains enthusiastic and interested in development with strong views on Agile and Pair Programming.
2015-05-07
10,006 reads
Blogs
The Book of Redgate: Spread across the world
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Merry Christmas
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Until recently, my family's 90,000+ photos have been hidden away in the depths of...
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Happy Holidays, Let's Do Nerdy Stuff
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UNISTR Escape
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Celebrating Tomorrow
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Question of the Day
UNISTR Escape
In SQL Server 2025, I run this command:
SELECT UNISTR('*3041*308A*304C\3068 and good night', '*') as "A Classic";
What is returned? (assume the database has an appropriate collation)
A: 
B: 
C: 
See possible answers