Miscellaneous

SQLServerCentral Article

Use ISO Images Without Burning to Disk

  • Article

Many downloads - especially from MS - are now coming as ISO images. Usually you burn these to CD or DVD and then use as normal, but there is a way to access the image directly saving the time/cost of burning. Not a SQL article, but you may find it useful anyway.

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2005-10-14 (first published: )

55,524 reads

Technical Article

usp_exec_tsql_strfile

  • Script

Executes a file containing T-SQL code without using OSQL. The file can be up to 80,000 characters. Each line in the file should be no more than 256 characters. (Customize the code as needed.) The DOS Type command is used to retrieve the code. Embedded "go"s are removed so don't expect termination behavior. The only […]

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2005-03-25 (first published: )

543 reads

SQLServerCentral Article

Is all code really code? One question from an interview

  • Article

Andy discusses one of the questions he uses to screen senior developer candidates. While the question itself is interesting, we think it will be more interesting to see how many of you agree with one of his positions - that developers think of program code and sql code as different animals, especially when it comes to debugging.

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2004-07-09

11,921 reads

Technical Article

Change Result Set Columns to Rows

  • Script

I had a developer in my company come to me recently with a unique request.  He asked if there was any way for sql to return a result set that was flopped.  In other words he wanted the rows to be columns and the columns to be rows.  So that a result set like this:Col1    […]

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2004-07-19 (first published: )

363 reads

Technical Article

Remove Duplicates from Table - No Cursors

  • Script

This script deletes all duplicates from a table.  It keeps the first instance of the record, and discards all others.  If you want to keep the last instance of the record, use MAX instead of MIN.  The script can be modified very easily to include more/less fields for comparison.  I've successfully used this SP to […]

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2004-07-27 (first published: )

307 reads

Technical Article

BulkExport - export data from TSQL

  • Script

sp_BulkExport:Export Data from TSQL without using xp_cmdshell - uses SQLDMO and sp_OA*.  Supports a variety of formats and options.  In my testing on a 22 million-row table it is NOT as fast as BCP.  This is the first rev of the proc and it has not been thoroughly tested.

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2004-09-16 (first published: )

952 reads

Technical Article

FormatDate - Mimics the VB Format routine for date

  • Script

I don't remember where I found this little gem, but as a VB Developer it has simplified retrieving  dates on many projects. Simply pass the function a datetime value and the format that you want in VB style syntax and the date is properly returned. I have modified it slightly from the original author (who […]

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2004-07-23 (first published: )

312 reads

Technical Article

SQLCalcEngine - evaluate numeric expression

  • Script

SQLCalcEngine - evaluate numeric expression similar to the VB eval function.The basic concept is to pass a string containing a numeric expression such as ((2+3)*(4/9)) and receive a numeric value back. The algorithm is based loosely on material found at http://www.arstdesign.com/articles/expression_evaluation.html, as well as material found in the book "Writing Compilers and Interpreters" by Ronald […]

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2005-03-31 (first published: )

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Backing Up a DMK

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The Quiet Part

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BIT_COUNT in SQL Server

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Question of the Day

Backing Up a DMK

In SQL Server 2025, I have a database with a Database Masker Key (DMK). I want to back up this key and keep a copy offline. When do I have to open this key before running the backup?

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