Running Queries Across Many SQL Server Databases
A challenge that reappears periodically in the world of databases (especially database management) is the need to run code on a subset of databases and to do so in a nuanced manner.
A Season of Reflection
As I think about heading into the fall conference season (and seeing so many familiar faces!!), I realize that I'm going to be asking myself a set of familiar questions. Who am I? What skills do I need to improve on in the coming year? Who do I look up to in the community and […]
Export and Import SSISDB in just a few clicks
In this article, I will describe how to export and import SSISDB using SSIS Catalog Migration Wizard in just a few clicks.
Looking Forward to the PASS Data Community Summit 2023
Steve takes a moment to think ahead to the PASS Data Community Summit 2023 and what he's looking forward to at the event.
Setting up Drill Through in the New Power BI Report User Interface
In this article, learn how to implement drill-through in Power BI reports using the new user interface.
Working around schema drift in SQL Server
At Stack Overflow, our environment has multiple implementations of a largely – but not 100% – identical schema. (By “schema,” I mostly mean the set of tables within a database.) I sometimes need to retrieve or update data across a large number of sites. Let’s say, pulling or removing information from the Users table, and related tables, across all of our databases.
The IT Jobs AI Can't Do
This was a provocative title: 6 ITOps Skills That Will Never Be Automated. In a time when AI use is growing quickly and many people fear for their jobs, it's nice to see someone writing about areas that AI will struggle to handle. Ironically, lots of these articles are written by writers without much technical […]
Let’s talk about Artificial Intelligence, ChatGPT and Gobbledegook
I use Chat-GPT occasionally, instead of Google, to get answers to technical questions. However, I regard Chat-GPT as an indiscriminate conveyor of existing information, not artificial intelligence.
How to export data to SQL Server using Bard (Google chatbot)
See how well the Bard AI does with moving data into SQL Server.
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