Bulk insert issue with UTF-8 fixed-width file format
Fellow Canadian Doran Douglas brought this issue to my attention recently, and I wanted to share it with you as...
2018-09-12
291 reads
Randolph West
- Twitter: @_randolph_west
- Website: https://bornsql.ca/blog/
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/rabryst/
Relational databases aren’t the problem
Content warning: This is the first of two rebuttal essays, about why someone is wrong on the Internet. It is...
2018-09-10 (first published: 2018-08-22)
3,150 reads
Dates and Times in SQL Server: AT TIME ZONE
Continuing the series on dates and times in SQL Server and Azure SQL Database, this week we look at the...
2018-09-05
259 reads
Repair Visual Studio for Mac: Extension node not found in path
A few months ago I ran into a problem after updating Visual Studio for Mac, where it would not start....
2018-08-30
345 reads
A software architect replaces a relational database with a relational database
Content warning: This is the second (and final) rebuttal essay about why someone is wrong on the Internet. It is...
2018-08-29
308 reads
Do you even PowerShell, bro? An ode to dbatools and dbachecks.
Shall I compare thee to Management Studio? Thou art more scriptable and consistent. Those out-of-memory errors do tend to lose...
2018-08-15
319 reads
Why you should not use SELECT *
A shorter post this week, but an important one. Last week, Erik Darling commented on my post saying that we...
2018-08-08
469 reads
Data lakes and swamps, oh my
I was lamenting to my friend and fellow MVP Shamir Charania (blog | Twitter) that I didn’t have a topic for...
2018-08-01 (first published: 2018-07-18)
2,973 reads
Don’t do these things in SQL Server
Recently Brent Ozar posted a link to the PostgreSQL “Don’t do this” page, which I am shamelessly reproducing below, re-tailored...
2018-08-01
503 reads
Repair SQL Server on Linux after an Ubuntu distribution upgrade
SQL Server 2017 is supported on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Long-Term Support), however that version of Ubuntu Linux is now more...
2018-07-25
338 reads
Blogs
Claude Code Helps Analyze Test Data Manager Log Files
By Steve Jones
I had a customer ask about analyzing their Test Data Manager (TDM) usage to...
PowerPoint to HTML with Claude AI
By Steve Jones
I had an idea for an animated view of a sales tool, and started...
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...
Forums
Huge frustration - Database watcher with two elastic pools
Think there's a reason why this is still in preview, but have someone manage...
SQL Server 2025 Query Performance Tuning: Troubleshoot and Optimize Query Performance
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Server 2025 Query Performance...
Is it uncommon for Dev's to have a data model of the source data
This is a generic question. To the moderators, I wasn't sure where to place...
Question of the Day
Creating JSON I
On SQL Server 2025, what happens when I run this code:
SELECT JSON_OBJECTAGG( 'City':'Denver') GOSee possible answers