Dry-run xp_delete_file Before Actually Deleting Files?
xp_delete_file doesn’t really have a built-in dry-run option to preview which files it would remove. But there’s a simple workaround,...
2025-12-10 (first published: 2025-11-27)
424 reads
Writing Better Dynamic SQL
This updated and "sort" of a style guide is for SQL developers and, to some extent, DBAs, essentially anyone daring (and sometimes...
2025-11-18
269 reads
Set Theory vs. Batch Mode in SQL Server
Not long ago, a colleague of mine was completely shocked when he first heard about SQL Server’s Batch Mode feature. His immediate...
2025-10-15 (first published: 2025-09-23)
574 reads
Measuring and Improving SQL Server Query Plan Cache Efficiency
The query plan cache hit ratio in SQL Server indicates the percentage of queries that are executed...
2025-07-11 (first published: 2025-06-24)
575 reads
15 Characters or Less: The Challenge of SQL Server Listeners Name
There is a hard limit on how long your AlwaysOn listener name can be. That...
2025-01-27 (first published: 2025-01-14)
358 reads
How to clear the SSMS cache?
If you are reading this, it's probably because you too have this rare need to clear the SSMS cache for...
2025-01-13 (first published: 2025-01-10)
2,123 reads
How to Find Where Your Databases Reside In The File System
SQL Script:
Copy
/*
RETURNS LIST OF FOLDER NAMES WHERE SQL SERVER DATABASE
FILES ARE STORED.
It is dynamic...
2024-12-27 (first published: 2024-01-31)
721 reads
Database Property LastGoodCheckDbTime to Get the Last Successful DBCC CHECKDB on a Database
As one of the preventive database maintenance tasks, performing database integrity checks on almost every database you...
2024-07-01 (first published: 2024-06-13)
542 reads
Search and Export Script for SQL Server Databases
Plainly speaking, this article is about searching for a specific value inside all tables and their columns of a SQL database and...
2024-04-24 (first published: 2024-04-09)
548 reads
Finding the Latest Backup Timestamps for Your Databases
I wanted to find out the most recent date and time each database was last backed up, focusing specifically on full, differential,...
2024-04-08 (first published: 2024-03-29)
542 reads
By Steve Jones
A customer was asking about tracking logins and logouts in Redgate Monitor. We don’t...
By Brian Kelley
Every year, the South Carolina State Internal Auditors Association and the South Carolina Midlands...
Data Céilí 2026 Call for Speakers is now live! Data Céilí (pronounced kay-lee), is...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item T-SQL in SQL Server 2025:...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Your Value from a Conference
Comments posted to this topic are about the item UNISTR Basics
What does this code return in SQL Server 2025+? (assume the database has an appropriate collation)
SELECT UNISTR('Hello 4E16754C') AS 'A Classic';
A: 
B: 
See possible answers