You're right, I did leave that one off...  I actually did do it but missed it in the cut and paste operation.

select * from...

Sounds strange...  Dashes are not wildcard characters (underscores are) so it shouldn't need to be escaped.

I tried the following (SQL2k5 SP1):

create

table wcard

If you are using the 32bit version of Windows, you'll still need the /pae switch in the boot.ini file to make use of the extra RAM in most cases.

By saying...

Well said Steve. 

I always have a list of questions that run the whole range.  Covering everthing from Logical Scan Density to logical design concepts.  I tell every interviewee that...

You are making a big mistake.  Using an Entity/Attribute (MUCK) table for this is going to cause you no end to grief.

Why not have a Message table and then...

I don't recall Oracle ever NOT treating empty strings as NULL.  I'm not saying that it's not possible, but I've never seen it. 

I'm not aware of any setting that...

I forgot to mention that if you use SQL Server's new Read Committed Snapshot transaction isolation level, SQL Server will act nearly identically to Oracle when it comes to transactions...

This is a big subject, but I'll try to touch on some of your concerns.  This isn't a comprehensive list or discussion, it's just off the top of my head...

Synonyms...

Assuming you are using SQL 2k5, just define the column as a varchar(max).

I have mixed thoughts on providing this advice, because storing a bunch of comma delimeted values in a...

The client tools certainly can be loaded on the server. 

If you gave us some more information about the specific error or difficulty you are encountering, we might be able...

Glad I could help.

BTW if you're running 2000, about the only thing you can do in this situation is to turn off auto update stats and schedule statististics creation on...

You might be seeing the effects of the statistics being updated.  When a query is being compiled, SQL Server looks at the statistics that can be used to determine the...

Actually the word "Statistics" in the SQL Server universe has a very specific meaning, (Statistics are used by the query optimizer to choose the mose efficient query plans) but I'm pretty sure...

This sounds like a job for Integration Services.

Although if the two databases are not in synch structure-wise, or are changing rapidly, this may be a real hastle.

Using some sort of...

Dave,

Thanks for the clarification.  After consulting with the configuration team, it is indeed a jTDS setting.  I knew that we were using that particular JDBC driver, but their emails initially...