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The other day I was given a request to change a field from varchar(6) to varchar(10). Not thinking it was a big deal I said just give me the checked in code and I'll make the change. One of our sharper dev's (Bill Carlson) was concerned with the...
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I've grown to like the presenter view in Powerpoint 2007; let's me navigate easily, and more important, lets me easily leverage notes as I often have scripts embedded in the notes. If you haven't tried it it treats the projector as a second...
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Many DBA's struggle with maintaining their security infrastructure while providing the ability for dev to access the delivery environment. A common approach is to setup a NRT (Near Real Time) environment on a warm server. There are several approaches...
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Some very interesting responses to my CLR editorial today including some good details that I haven't seen elsewhere. I'm still thinking that we're missing a lot of examples that might convince people to give the CLR a try, or implement it...
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I get busy and usually forget to post when I'm out and about, but for once I've remembered. I'll be in Boston next week working and doing a vacationing after 5 pm. If you happen to be one of my 17.5 loyal blog readers (or even if you're...
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I wrote these questions thinking about what some basic t-sql statements that I would want to see if I were to interview a intern or junior level DBA. These cover some basics using both the adventure works transactional database and the adventure works...
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I saw that Erland Sommerskag posted a Connect item that asked for a "View Variable" to be added to the SQL language. The idea is that you would be able to declare a variable that was a query of some sort and then use that in places where you...
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Our most recent SQLSaturday went well, but there is always room for improvement. Here are my notes from this event: The only criticism noted on the event evals was about directions. We only had a couple signs up and that just wasn't enough given the...
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In a SQL Server enterprise there are several ways to move data, choosing the best method, is often more of a challenge then actually implementing. The key factors involved are performance, Dev time, and ease of implementation. A nice utility in the .Net...
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The SSIS expression language is a powerful yet enigmatic entity. Once you get used to its syntax - which is part C#, part T-SQL and part *WTH?!?* - it's actually somewhat fun to use. However, one thing it is lacking (as far as I can tell - correct...
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After the editorial on the Kindle , which got quite a few responses, I've continued to look around and research things. I saw an interesting comparison with a husband and wife who have both. There are some interesting things on the Sony reader, especially...
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Time moves by and I was surprised to get a coffee mug in the mail from ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) announcing my fifth anniversary as a member, and also received an email with the same message. I joined ACM originally because it was part...
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I was able this Saturday to head down to Jacksonville and speak at the SQL Saturday there. There were a lot of folks, a lot of good presentations, and the area in and around Jacksonville was gorgeous. I gave two presentations, both of them security related...
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It would be handy to have a checkbox/SET option/something that would tell SQL not to cache plans run in a Query Analyzer session. Not a huge deal, but would keep from junking up the cache with plans that don't really matter and are unlikely to be...
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So after many months of trudging through native SQL Server backups for new mission-critical application I'm deploying, I have decided to do some evaluations and cost/benefit analyses on aftermarket SQL Server backup products. I've started off...