Updating SSMS is Easy (w/ v21)
I’ve been using the SSMS preview for v21. This is the next evolution of SSMS, where the VS shell is finally being updated. For many of us, SSMS has...
2025-04-28
130 reads
Blog Posts
Using AI for Data Conversion
I’m sure I’ve never mentioned that I’m an amateur radio operator. Like Vegans and Cross Fitters, we tend to be shy and withdrawn about our predilections. BWA-HA-HA! Ok, like...
2025-04-28 (first published: 2025-04-11)
354 reads
Why use XACT_ABORT?
This came up one day at my work when a developer was using it. I hadn’t used it before and thought I’d better check it out. It’s off by...
2025-04-28 (first published: 2025-04-11)
949 reads
Kusto Detective Agency - Intro
While I mostly write about SQL Server, I have a soft spot for Kusto. In this series, I will explore solutions to fun challenges collectively known as the Kusto...
2025-04-27 (first published: 2025-04-26)
106 reads
Building Resilience: Leadership Insights from Sports
In the bustling world of sports, leadership appears as a beacon of hope and direction. Imagine a football team, standing on the brink of a crucial match. The players,...
2025-04-25 (first published: 2025-04-08)
224 reads
Limiting Results with TEXTSIZE in SQL Server: #SQLNewBlogger
There is a SET command in SQL Server that changes how much data is returned from some fields. This short post shows what I learned about the SET TEXTSIZE...
2025-04-25 (first published: 2025-04-07)
492 reads
Announcements from the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference
A ton of new features for Microsoft Fabric were announced at the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference recently. Here are all the new features that I found most interesting, with some...
2025-04-23 (first published: 2025-04-09)
349 reads
T-SQL Tuesday #185: Video
This month’s invite is from Erik Darling, who invites you to make a video on any topic of your choice. I liked his reasoning for this and appreciate his...
2025-04-23 (first published: 2025-04-08)
217 reads
Azure Data Factory Pipeline Debugging Fails with BadRequest
I recently had a new pipeline fail. It was actually a copy of an old pipeline where I had made some adjustments into as part of a database migration....
2025-04-21 (first published: 2025-04-04)
333 reads
Comparing My Current Schema with a Backup with SQL Compare
A customer asked if they needed to restore a database from backup to compare the schema in a database. They don’t and this post shows that. This is part...
2025-04-21 (first published: 2025-03-31)
272 reads
Blogs
The Book of Redgate: Spread across the world
By Steve Jones
This was Redgate in 2010, spread across the globe. First the EU/US Here’s Asia...
Merry Christmas
By John
Today is Christmas and while I do not expect anybody to actual be reading...
Self-Hosting a Photo Server the Whole Family Can Use
By Bert Wagner
Until recently, my family's 90,000+ photos have been hidden away in the depths of...
Forums
Happy Holidays, Let's Do Nerdy Stuff
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Happy Holidays, Let's Do Nerdy...
UNISTR Escape
Comments posted to this topic are about the item UNISTR Escape
Celebrating Tomorrow
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Celebrating Tomorrow
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