An Interesting Article on Unicode and Character Sets
This may well be more than you want to know about Unicode (and no, it's not a SQL article), but it's a pretty useful discussion to have.
Documenting Stored Procedures
Regular columnist Robert Marda discusses a few ideas on stored procedure documentation. How much documentation do you need and is "documentation" different than code comments?
Mapping Database File Objects and Fragmentation
Chris proposes a tool that would allow you to graphically see the space utilized by objects in a SQL database. Good idea?
When Do You Pull Your Hair Out?
Another adventure in the real world. Steve Jones tracks down a problem with locks on a live system. Read along and see how he works through the issues.
Terminal Services - A Couple Tips
We agree with Andy that Terminal Services is definitely a tool to have in the DBA toolbox. Like most tools, everyone uses them differently. Andy starts the discussion with some comments on how he uses TS - what about you? Do you use TS at all? Use it differently than Andy does? Prefer a different solution? Read the article and post a comment.
Review of SQLDiff by Lockwood
Chris was kind enough to take some time to put this product through it's paces and ends up giving it a very good rating. Read the article to see a nice graphical walkthrough of how to use the product.
Fixed Database Roles
This article covers four of the fixed database roles (db_datareader, db_datawriter, db_denydatareader, and db_denydatawriter). If you're new to SQL security (and maybe even if you're not) this article is worth reading.
Cluster That Index - Part 2
Chris does a follow up to his very popular article on clustered indexes. They seem simple, but in practice they are fairly complicated. Having a solid understanding of clustered indexes will definitely help you get the results you need.
xSQL Object Public Beta
xSQL Object for Microsoft SQL Server has been designed with the DataBase Administrator in mind. Scripting, Comparing and even Synchronizing different objects like tables, views, stored procedures etc. is fast and easy.
Auditing DTS Packages
In this follow up article, Haidong explains how to audit DTS packages. While parts of it are specific to DTS, the general technique has many useful applications.
Blogs
SQL Server 2025 GAs Today
By Steve Jones
If you aren’t watching the Ignite keynotes today, then you might have missed the...
Run SQL Server 2025 and SQL Server Management Studio on macOS Tahoe
Short version You want to get this running as fast as possible. Do these...
The Roundup for T-SQL Tuesday #192
By Steve Jones
Last week I asked you to write about SQL Server 2025 and what things...
Forums
Best way to log Data Flow errors in SSIS 2005?
Hi everyone, I’m working with some old SSIS 2005 packages, and I’m trying to...
Advanced Excel Mastery for Finance, Accounting & Payroll – 2025 Edition
Unlock the full potential of spreadsheets with our “Advanced Excel Mastery” course tailored for...
2025 Form 1099 Reporting Requirements: Essential 1099 NEC Updates
Prepare your team for the upcoming compliance shift with our “2025 Form 1099 Reporting...
Question of the Day
Specifying the Collation
I am dealing with issues on my SQL Server 2022 instance related to collation. I have an instance collation of Latin1_General_CS_AS_KS_WS, but a database collation of Latin1_General_CI_AS. I want to force a few queries to run with a specified collation by using code like this:
DECLARE @c VARCHAR(20) = 'Latin1_General_CI_AS'
SELECT p.PersonType,
p.Title,
p.LastName,
c.CustomerID,
c.AccountNumber
FROM Person.Person AS p
INNER JOIN Sales.Customer AS c
ON c.PersonID = p.BusinessEntityID
COLLATE @c
Will this solve my problem? See possible answers