Ever notice how IntelliSense in SSMS lists functions that don't work or aren't documented? Here's documentation for one that works: UNCOMPRESS
How Does DBCC CHECKIDENT Really Work When Resetting the Identity Seed (RESEED)?
Does resetting an Identity Seed to a specific value via DBCC CHECKIDENT(..., RESEED, new_seed_value) work the way the documentation states? It depends 🙃
Beware! Beware of Unintended Changes When Altering Columns!
Beware of big green dragons, er, well, of unexpected changes when changing a column's datatype. You might be unpleasantly surprised! 🙀 Beware!
Prevent Full Script Execution (Understanding and Using PARSEONLY and NOEXEC)
Have you ever needed to prevent an entire script (or part of one) from executing? See how the session-level options PARSEONLY and NOEXEC can accomplish this.
SQLCLR vs SQL Server 2017, Part 9: Does PERMISSION_SET Still Matter, or is Everything Now UNSAFE?
For SQLCLR in SQL Server 2017 and newer, when "CLR strict security" is enabled, does PERMISSION_SET matter, or are assemblies always UNSAFE?
Native UTF-8 Support in SQL Server 2019: Savior or False Prophet?
An in-depth analysis of the new native UTF-8 support in SQL Server 2019.
SQLCLR vs SQL Server 2017, Part 8: Is SQLCLR Deprecated in Favor of Python or R (sp_execute_external_script)?
(last updated: 2020-01-09 @ 13:15 EST / 2020-01-09 @ 18:15 UTC ) With the additional (and annoying) configuration step required to get SQLCLR Assemblies to load starting in SQL Server 2017, some people have been wondering what is going on with SQLCLR. Considering that this new restriction is the only real change to SQLCLR since… Continue reading SQLCLR vs SQL Server 2017, Part 8: Is SQLCLR Deprecated in Favor of Python or R (sp_execute_external_script)?
Changing the Collation of the SQL Server Instance, the Databases, and All Columns in All User Databases: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Need to change the collation at ALL levels? Prefer to avoid reloading all objects and data? Learn what the "sqlservr -q" option does, and doesn't, do.
Enable Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) on Windows 10 Home Edition
(last updated: 2020-07-05 @ 12:45 EST / 2020-07-05 @ 16:45 UTC ) Occasionally I want / need to change a Windows setting that is not configurable via Control Panel or Settings. For example: Enabling long-path support (long = paths over 259 characters) Disabling all Live Tiles The instructions usually require using Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc).… Continue reading Enable Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) on Windows 10 Home Edition
The Uni-Code: The Search for the True List of Valid Characters for T-SQL Identifiers, Part 3 of 2 (Delimited Identifiers)
The investigation into valid T-SQL identifier characters continues. Apparently I was not done.