SQL Server 2000 has a rock solid backup scheme , but do you really need to run full backups every day? What if you could decide on the fly if it was more efficient for a full or a differential backup? Darwin Hatheway brings us the basis for a scheme that can predict the size of a differential backup by examining how much of the database has changed.
Server 2005 now supports a more programmable error trapping convention in T-SQL code. This error handling is known as the TRY/CATCH block. The TRY/CATCH block allows T-SQL to handling errors like other programming languages, such as Microsoft Visual C# and C++. In addition to the TRY/CATCH block, Microsoft has expanded the set of available system functions in SQL Server 2005 for returning error codes and messages when an error occurs in your T-SQL code. This article will explore the new TRY/CATCH block and explain the new system functions for returning error codes and messages.
Rules play a central role in a wide variety of applications. In addition to the declarative specification of business rules, the simple rule engine design described in this article can be used to implement state machines, predicate dispatchers, or any other rule-based system.
Do you have a need to generate bar codes for an application? Check out this new product, reviewed by Dinesh Asanka, that uses Reporting Services to help you easily print bar codes.
In the past, it was common for an employer to work with their employees and pay to keep their skills current. While this still happens, in this age of high employee (and employer) turnover, many companies are more circumspect about how much they will spend to keep their employees keep up-to-date. At the end of the day, it is your responsibility to make sure this happens and there are many good reasons why you should strive to do so and many ways in which you can do it.
When a new version is released or when existing software is upgraded there is always a learning curve and getting used to new ways of doing things. This article demonstrates how to use SQL Server 2005's catalog views in comparison with using system tables in SQL Server 2000.
SQL Server has a great alerting mechanism for letting DBAs know when some event has occurred, but adding this notification to clients is a little more difficult. New author Stas Vasiljev brings us an extended stored procedure that has has used to allow clients to receive a broadcast when data has changed on a server.
Most software projects fail. Only about a quarter are completely successful. About half are late and over budget and the remaining quarter just fade into oblivion. What if there was a simple way to ensure your project’s success? There is, and it’s all about starting out in the right way
SQL Server 2005 has dramatically changed the way many maintenance plans are used. New author Aaron Ingold brings us an introductory look at Maintenance Plans in this new version.
SQL Server 2005 offers a new tool, Database Snapshot, which helps protect against user errors. It's a great feature, in some ways. But Ravindra Okade cautions against relying on it as an all-purpose rescue device.
By Steve Jones
AI is a big deal in 2026, and at Redgate, we’re experimenting with how...
By Steve Jones
Another of our values: The facing page has this quote: “We admire people who...
By Ed Elliott
Running tSQLt unit tests is great from Visual Studio but my development workflow...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item No Defaults Passwords Ever
Hi, We have low latency high volume system. I have a table having 3...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Long Name
I run this code to create a table:
When I check the length, I get these results:
A table name is limited to 128 characters. How does this work?