Count(*) or Count(1) ?
Every so often on the on-line forums, the question of : Which is better Count(*) or Count(1) ? will occur. So can...
2010-07-27
1,468 reads
Dave Ballantynes blog
SQLBits 7
For those that may of missed it, voting for SQLBits sessions is now open. Make your voice heard and get...
2010-07-20
398 reads
Using a UDF as a SARG. Make a hash of it!
I am somewhat uncomfortable blogging this, as I feel that it falls into “Polish a turd” category. Having said that,...
2010-07-02
725 reads
Kent Sql Server UserGroup
One of my back burner projects is to setup a local user group.
I'm delighted to now say that this is...
2010-06-28
403 reads
SQL 101 : Without “ORDER BY”, order is not guaranteed.
It’s as simple as that. If you don’t specify ORDER BY, then the order of your result set is not...
2010-06-26
713 reads
SQL Server XML Schemas
Ever been curious about the schema of , say an SSRS rdl file ? How about the execution plan ?
Not only should...
2010-06-15
493 reads
Challenge 19 – An Explanation of a Query
I have received a number of requests for an explanation of my winning query of TSQL Challenge 19. This involved...
2010-05-27
1,704 reads
Increasing deadlocks with NoLock
One of my personal pet issues is with inappropriate use of the NOLOCK hint (and read uncommitted) . Don't get me...
2010-04-23
746 reads
Cross Apply Ambiguity
Cross apply (and outer apply) are a very welcome addition to the TSQL language. However, today after a few hours...
2010-03-26
1,920 reads
Output = MAXDOP 1
It is widely know that data modifications on table variables do not support parallelism, Peter Larsson has a good example...
2010-03-04
557 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