Database Checkups
It's important that you are watching your databases' health to be sure that you can make changes, as well as rollback patches when issues occur.
2014-09-29
216 reads
Editorial
I am no Asimov
Rodney Landrum on finding the inspiration you need, somehow and from somewhere, to get yourself out of a tight corner.
2014-09-29
127 reads
Is SQL Server Mature?
This Friday Steve Jones is wondering if the SQL Server platform does the job well enough for most people, or are there holes that need to be filled with new features.
2018-08-03 (first published: 2014-09-26)
238 reads
The Value of Data
Data can be valuable, and there's a new book that compares the value of data today to that of oil in the previous century. Steve Jones has a few thoughts on why we should consider this to be the case.
2018-05-16 (first published: 2014-09-25)
155 reads
Testing in Production
The Apple fall keynote recently didn't work as planned, and it seems as though their systems weren't tested well enough.
2014-09-23
212 reads
Automate Yourself to a Coffee Break
A DBA should be working to automate their tasks, and find time to do things that are really important. Like keeping their coffee cup topped off 🙂
2014-09-22
291 reads
Watson Freemium
IBM has released a free version of its Watson service to help people perform analytics on their data.
2014-09-22
112 reads
No Compelling Reason
Steve Jones wants to know if you have compelling reasons to upgrade or not upgrade this week.
2014-09-19
118 reads
The 10 (.5) Commandments for IT Professionals
A list of the commandments, or at least suggestions, that Simon Holzman sees as important for IT professionals.
2014-09-18
509 reads
Swallowing the Camel
There is a paradox in the nature of the abstractions that many developers want when dealing with databases. They will strain at the gnat, but swallow a camel (Matthew 23:24). Whereas they will recoil with horror when a DBA suggests that an abstraction layer based on views, functions and procedures in a separate database schema […]
2014-09-15
186 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