Avoiding Logging
It seems that some people think that you can perform actions in SQL Server without logging them in the transaction log. Steve Jones talks about this myth and says it's not even an option he'd like to have.
2011-03-08
635 reads
Editorial
Is Microsoft neglecting SMO?
Phil Fator, the self-confessed wild man of T-SQL, finally comes clean: he's a secret PowerShell user. But for the DBA, what is PowerShell without SMO? Is Microsoft giving the latter the care and attention it needs?
2011-03-07
504 reads
The Wisdom Department
Steve Jones talks about the way business ought to run, with more long term goals and objectives taking precedence over short term revenue. One idea that might help us is having a wisdom department that looks forward and tries to grow the business for the long term.
2011-03-07
403 reads
SLA Contracts
This Friday Steve Jones talks about the commitments and contracts that you may have with your customers. Do you know what they are? Is the contract explicitly spelled out? Take this Friday's poll and share your answer with everyone else.
2011-03-04
581 reads
Slow Fixes
Today we have an editorial reprinted from Jan 15, 2006 as Steve is on vacation. This one talks about the patching process at Microsoft, and why it sometimes is slower than we might like.
2011-03-03
375 reads
Bad IT People
What happens when you have bad IT people working in your company? Steve Jones says that they always will be around, but we might not want to enable them to continue in this business when we find them.
2011-03-02
2,136 reads
MVP Summit 2011
Steve Jones talks a little about the 2011 MVP Summit and what the annual event means to the average DBA.
2011-03-01
172 reads
Professional Development Week
Last week was Professional Development Week at SQL University. Steve Jones talks about the importance of having a professional development plan and the types of things that you could learn this week.
2011-02-28
209 reads
Will You Become a Master?
Today we have a guest editorial from Andy Warren. There are changes in the Microsoft Certified Master of SQL Server program and many people are considering trying to earn this certification. Today Andy Warren asks if you want to go down that path.
2011-02-28
341 reads
Odd Questions
Interviews can be strange for many reasons, often because interviewers are not well prepared to evaluate candidates. This Friday Steve Jones asks you what weird things you might have encountered in an interview when someone is asking you questions.
2011-02-25
613 reads
Blogs
Post-quantum key exchange – Insurance policy for your packets
AWS recently added support for Post-Quantum Key Exchange for TLS in Application Load Balancer...
Plan your 2026
By Brian Kelley
If you don't have a plan, you'll accomplish it. That's not a good thing.
Another Change
By Steve Jones
Today Redgate announced that we are partnering with Bregal Sagemount, a growth-focused private equity...
Forums
Where Your Value Separates You from Others
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Where Your Value Separates You...
Fixing the Error
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Fixing the Error
T-SQL in SQL Server 2025: Encoding Functions
Comments posted to this topic are about the item T-SQL in SQL Server 2025:...
Question of the Day
Fixing the Error
On SQL Server 2025, I have a database that has this collation: SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS. I decide I want to run this code:
SELECT UNISTR('*3041*308A*304C*3068 and good night', '*') AS 'A Classic';
I get this error:Msg 9844, Level 16, State 4, Line 24 The char/varchar input type uses an unsupported collation. Only a UTF8 collation is supported with char/varchar input type in UNISTR function.What is the easiest way to fix this error? See possible answers