Finding “Orphaned” database files – script
When you drop a database from a SQL Server instance the underlying files are usually removed. This doesn’t happen however if you set the database to be offline first,...
2019-03-27
50 reads
Matthew McGiffen
- Twitter: @MattMcGiffen
- Website: https://matthewmcgiffen.com/
Checking Progress of the Creation of your Azure Resources
When I’ve created resources in Azure it’s usually taken from a few minutes and up to quarter of an hour...
2019-02-26
838 reads
There’s got to be a better way
For T-SQL Tuesday #111, Andy Leonard asks “What is your why? Why do you do what you do?”
Like Andy, I...
2019-02-12
663 reads
Some differences with SQL Server when running on AWS RDS
If you plan on using Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host your SQL Server based applications in the cloud, then...
2018-12-12
825 reads
2018-09-13
5,039 reads
T-SQL Tuesday #106 – The Trouble with Triggers
For this month’s T-SQL Tuesday Steve Jones asks us to talk about our experiences with Triggers:
https://voiceofthedba.com/2018/09/03/t-sql-tuesday-106-trigger-headaches-or-happiness/
In my post I’m going...
2018-09-12
257 reads
2018-07-24
4,978 reads
T-SQL Tuesday 104 – Capture expensive queries with query store
For this month’s T-SQL Tuesday Bert Wagner invites us to share SQL scripts we’ve written that we’d hate to live...
2018-07-10
295 reads
Cycle Through Your Clipboard History In SSMS
This is my favourite SSMS trick I’ve discovered recently, probably some time towards the end of last year.
Basically, when you...
2018-06-06
1,407 reads
The Importance of ORDER BY
Everyone, at the beginning of their SQL career, get’s told that it is important to include an ORDER BY if...
2018-05-30
421 reads
Blogs
Don’t Miss Out – SQL Server Query Tuning Fundamentals Starts Next Monday!
Next Monday, February 9, 2026, my one-day live online training SQL Server Query Tuning...
Monday Monitor Tips: SQL Auditing Preview
By Steve Jones
One of the features we advocates have been advocating for is a better way...
SQL Server 2025 CU1 Fixes the Docker Desktop AVX Issue on macOS
Microsoft fixed the AVX instruction issue in SQL Server 2025 CU1. The container now...
Forums
Unlock the Best Excel Tricks for 2026 Financial Reporting
Discover how to simplify, automate, and enhance your financial reporting with Excel in 2026....
25 Years of SQL Server Central
Comments posted to this topic are about the item 25 Years of SQL Server...
The Decoded Value
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Decoded Value
Question of the Day
The Decoded Value
In SQL Server 2025, what is returned from this code:
DECLARE @message VARCHAR(50) = 'Hello SQL Server 2025!'; DECLARE @encoded VARCHAR(MAX); SET @encoded = BASE64_ENCODE(CAST(@message AS VARBINARY(1000))); SELECT BASE64_DECODE(@encoded)See possible answers