Fixed length is a pain to work with in DTS. Easier is to import the file into an import buffer table having a single column. Then use a user defined function,...

If you want to get more functionality in your programming, take a look at books-online first. For example: why miss out on something like "IF UPDATE"...

IF UPDATE (column)

BEGIN

 INSERT INTO audit_table(column)

 SELECT...

I have a bunch of functions for string cleaning. As far as execution plans go, is it more optimal to use different functions?

Mapping column to column directly in the Transformations tab is dangerous because of a bug in DTS designer. Occasionally, upon opening a package, the mapping will reverse: A-Z, ..., Z-A....

If milliseconds are important than you need style 14/114:

CONVERT( VARCHAR, @dt1, 114 ) >= CONVERT( VARCHAR, @dt2, 114 )

I don't know what kind of output you get, but you can:

In DTS designer, right click in the open field, choose package properties, click the logging tab, and go from...

Yes, but if you rely on people to remember to update the update column, it won't be updated every time. An update trigger is the best solution.

DELETE

 A

FROM

 tableA AS A

INNER JOIN

 tableA AS B

ON

 A.ID > B.ID

 AND

 A.column_of_interest = B.column_of_interest

You can log each step in a scheduled job.

Open the job, open a step for editing, click the advanced tab, choose an output file location in the "Transact-SQL Script" section, choose...

Yes, but don't you have to do a disconnected edit in DTS to handle columns larger than 255?

> Not always! update on blob fields (text, ntext or image) will not fire triggers (This is applicable to both

> instead of and after triggers)

That's...

Why switch between Simple and Full? If you have no need for point-in-time recovery, then you should maintain your database in Simple mode. If you do have recovery needs, then...

I recommend learning about good database design before doing any more creating or modifying on your server.

Books online (BOL) has some introductory information. Press F1 in Enterprise Manager or Query...

Cursors add a lot of overhead. I've always been able to solve problems using temp tables.

 DECLARE @COUNTER INT

 DECLARE @SIZE INT

 DECLARE @ERROR INT

 DECLARE @RECORD_ID INT

 DECLARE @SOME_COLUMN VARCHAR(128)

 DECLARE @TEMP_TABLE TABLE(

  RECORD_ID INT

  ,SOME_COLUMN VARCHAR(128)

  ,LOOP_ID...

Check to see if they dropped any indexes.