PowerShell and ADO.NET Connection String Settings for SQL Server
Tim Smith addresses some common questions from PowerShell developers about connection strings, errors with strings, and alternative development approaches to using connection strings.
When to Quote in PowerShell
The one question about PowerShell that trips up almost everyone is about when and how to quote strings. Because PowerShell replaces the old command shell, it has to be able to work the way that it did with string parameters, but it also has to behave like a .NET scripting language to replace VBA. In this article, Michael Sorens explains the how and when of PowerShell quoting.
More on CXPACKET Waits: Skewed Parallelism
When cardinality estimates are incorrect, the parallel threads doing the query work are given uneven amounts of work to do. This problem can lead to a seeming explosion in CXPACKET waits occurring and is commonly called skewed parallelism; Paul Randal explains how to check for it.
SQL 2016: Columnstore row group Merge policy and index maintenance improvements
Denzil Ribeiro looks at how SQL Server 2016's new Merge functionality in INDEX REORGANIZE simplifies Columnstore index maintenance significantly.
NoSQL inside SQL Server
This week Steve Jones looks at the idea of combining some NoSQL concepts inside of SQL Server.
What Kind of DBA Are You?
Are you a do-it-all DBA, or do you specialize in one aspect of database work?
Building Databases: One Man’s Best Practice?
One man’s meat is often another man’s poison. In this editorial Tony Davis looks at why a migrations-based approach to database version control might not always be best practice.
Blogs
Advice I Like: Pyramid Schemes
By Steve Jones
If someone is trying to convince you it’s not a pyramid scheme, it’s a...
Using Prompt AI for a Travel Data Analysis
By Steve Jones
I was looking back at my year and decided to see if SQL Prompt...
FinOps for Kubernetes: Leveraging OpenCost, KubeGreen, and Kubecost for Cost Efficiency
In the era of cloud-native applications, Kubernetes has become the default standard platform for...
Forums
Database file shrink issue.
Hi experts, I have a 3+ TB database on a 2019 sql server which...
The North Star for the Year
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The North Star for the...
Multiple Escape Characters
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Multiple Escape Characters
Question of the Day
Multiple Escape Characters
In SQL Server 2025, I run this code (in a database with the appropriate collation):
SELECT UNISTR('%*3041%*308A%*304C%*3068 and good night', '%*') AS 'A Classic';
What is returned? See possible answers