database dave

Just a quick post in case anyone else finds this useful; for a report I’ve created, I wanted to have SQL Server versions displayed in a nice, readable form, rather than the usual build number format (e.g. 11.0.3128.0). So I found the very useful SQL Server Builds page (thanks to whoever maintains that), and proceeded to [...]

I’m setting up my new work laptop, and decided to have a look around the net for what the cool kids were doing these days to customise SSMS 2012.  Surprisingly not a lot seems to have changed (i.e. changing font, adding keyboard shortcuts, and using a trendy dark theme are still the most common tweaks). Aesthetics [...]

I’ve had a few weeks off work recently, during which time I decided to tidy up (or attempt to anyway) my collection of “utility scripts”.  This consists of about 95% regular T-SQL scripts, with the rest being a mixture of PowerShell scripts, batch files, etc. This made me wonder how other people managed their collections, [...]

Here’s a stored procedure I put together a week or so ago that I thought others might find useful. We had an issue which should really never be allowed to happen (but as they say, “shit happens”); a rather important table ran out of integer values for the identity column.  Luckily the actual value of [...]

Well, right now I’m sitting in a hospital room waiting for my wife to come out of surgery – nothing too serious. In the mean time it feels like I’ve got a rather nice little office in fact; a comfy(ish) chair and desk in a private ward with good free wi-fi access, and coffee just down [...]