In the last entry, I gave an overview of the large software update I delivered to a client, an update that should've been done incrementally over a period of several months. From database schema changes, to swapping out a reporting engine, to switching from ANSI to Unicode, I really bit off more than I could chew at once. But it's now working well and I'm once again sleeping at night!

This portion of the story deals with the database changes that were made, both the structure and the character set.

I recently gave a client a major update to their custom application. Actually, "major" doesn't even do it justice. It was more like "mega major" and I don't think I'll take the approach I did ever again. But I wanted to move their code to the latest compilers and to support the latest operating systems. I also needed to change some low-level database constructs. Why all this? Because I'm a best-practices sort of guy.

Here's what I had to start:

• Delphi 2006 development environment
• ElevateDB database (ANSI)
• Rave Reports
• Other third-party libraries and custom components

ElevateDB is an embedded SQL database engine that can be compiled directly into your application (when using Delphi or Visual Studio) and offers multi-user access locally or across the internet in client-server mode. ElevateDB adheres to a subset of the SQL 2003 standard. It is one of the easiest databases to code yet has many features found in much larger systems.

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Nick Hodges is a prominent evangelist for Delphi and related products. In this article, he explains some important concepts about developing Delphi applications with Blackfish SQL databases.

When Blackfish SQL first arrived (or was repackaged), this article appeared to help introduce the "new" product.

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The largest Microsoft SQL Server community on the web. SQLServerCentral.com offers you thousands of SQL Server articles, FAQs, scripts, and forums to help your professional development as a DBA, developer or user of SQL Server.

There comes a time when the monotony of work needs a little refreshing diversion. Some of us like to relax (or frustrate) the time a way with a Sudoku puzzle which is fast becoming pandemic craze.

I enjoy solving these puzzles myself, but with a lust for a challenge, I could not resist the opportunity to develop a Sudoku puzzle solver written entirely in Oracle SQL and PL/SQL.

Here are some of the best free MySQL tools out there. The descriptions are not a review of the product, but simply what the developers say about their tools.

You can build very powerful and flexible text-formatting solutions in SQL Server. Learn how to apply techniques that handle the simplest to the more complex text-formatting tasks.

Sometimes you cannot avoid the use of a temporary table. You can in most cases but sometimes they come in handy. This article discusses the use and the alternatives to temporary tables from a query pe

During a long wet May bank holiday weekend I decided to try my hand at a Sudoko puzzle in the Sunday paper. After all, how hard could it be?

Four frustrating hours later I thought "hang on, this is

Operate and manage SQL Server 2000 with the help of these resources.

"A known value against which later measurements can be compared" is one of many definitions for SQL Server baselining. In this article, the author shares his findings on this subject.

Are you responsible for keeping your organization's database systems up and running? Are you the one they call in the middle of the night if the database server is down? If so, the SQL Server 2000 Operations Guide is for you.