SQL Server Diaries

Client-facing applications which require that a user choose say, a month or weekday name from a list usually rely on hard-coded lists or by the values in a table, config file, or other location.  Unless the original design allows for multiple languages, it can easily get messy when extending the... [Read More]

SQL Server Agent job definitions, schedules and other information are stored in the MSDB system database.  A DBA can retrieve details about the outcome of the scheduled jobs, when the job was executed, how long it took, etc.  This information is stored in the sysjobhistory (Transact-SQL) table.  The schema of... [Read More]

A while ago I helped a colleague develop a T-SQL function that would increment a date by an integer value and return the first working day following and closest to the resulting date.  The requirements were not complex - a date is incremented by a number of days and the... [Read More]

As the final post of 2011, and considering that most DBAs might start considering upgrading to the latest version of SQL Server when it is launched at the end of March 2012 (?), I am publishing a script which I found very helpful for upgrades and database migrations. [Read More]

My national language (Maltese) is described in Maltese language - Wikipedia as “the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet in its standard form”.  I was recently asked whether SQL Server can store Maltese characters, or specifically the characters which deviate from the Latin character set. [Read More]