How should SQL code be formatted? What sort of indentation should you use? Should keywords be in upper case? How should lists be lined up? SQL is one of those languages that will execute anyway however you treat whitespace and capitalization. However, the way SQL is laid out will effect its readability and the time taken to review and understand it. Standardisation of code layout is an important issue, but what standard should you adopt? Rob avoids a direct answer, but tells you the sort of answers you'll need to decide upon when creating a strategy for formatting SQL code.… Read more
Joe becomes intrigued by the way that experts make errors in any area of technology, and suggests that the problem is more that of mindsets than lack of knowledge. He illustrates the point with SQL Development by means of the "Britney Spears, Automobiles and Squids" table, and the tangled Stored procedure, and shows ways of getting rid of both procedural and non-procedural code by adopting a different programming mindset.… Read more
Sometimes, you wish you had a tool to run a software development process exactly the way you need it to run. You click your heels together and then realise that you already have the means to do it. By combining tools that can work in command-line mode, or can be automated in other ways, you can sometimes save a great deal of time and tedium. Roger Hart rummages into the SQL Toolbelt and comes up with some practical examples for providing Continuous Integration, along with the code!… Read more
It is difficult to begin to estimate the huge extent of the contribution that Niklaus Wirth has made to IT as it exists today. Although now retired for ten years, he remains a abiding influence on the design of computer languages. It is likely that the first structured computer language you ever learned was written by him. He still has fascinating views on contemporary software trends, as Richard Morris found out when he spoke to him.… Read more
For three and a half years, the 'Confessions of an IT Manager', by Phil Factor, have been a distinctive part of Simple-Talk's output. Now compiled into a 300 page book, they form a unique commentary of the comic, and someties bizarre, nature of a career in IT.… Read more
In the first part of this series of articles, Gail showed how to find the procedures that contributed most to performance problems. In this final part, she shows how to use query statistics to pinpoint the queries that are causing the biggest problems, and then use the query execution plans to find out which operations are the root cause. With this information one can select and modify the indexes that can optimize the plans and therefore performance of the query.… Read more
For many years, everyone involved in the administration of offices has wished that there was a way of combining the voicemail, fax, the PBX with the Exchange Email system, particularly for highly mobile users. . With Exchange Server 2007, this has now become a reality. Even though it forces the Exchange Administrator to become familiar with telephony, the benefits are such that it is well worth the effort.… Read more
SQLBits is the largest SQL Server conference in Europe. Because it is held on a Saturday, and is free, it has proved extremely popular with database professionals, especially in the current economic climate. SQLBits is renowned for the quality and independence of the speakers. To find out more about SQLBits, , we sent Richard Morris off into the February snows to interview Simon Sabin, the organiser. … Read more
Bill Holmberg takes a practical look at Change Management, and list the steps you need to take. To make things simpler, he also provides a sample Word template you can use to follow through a complete change control cycle on a given project. Leaving nothing to doubt, he finishes with an illustration; a fictional exercise so you can see his guidelines in action. … Read more
Phil Factor turns to burlesque in order to reinforce his point that an ability to answer SQL Technical questions isn't
really a measure of anyone's fitness for a real job of work. He is struck by the expression 'SQL
Shootout', and the rest is left to his over-active imagination. The first
SQL Cowboy story?
… Read more
Prasanna is reminded of pizza in cardboard boxes when he explores the possibilities of Synchronization Services for ADO.NET. Data applications are becoming increasingly mobile, and often disconnected, and data is often wrapped up to be consumed later. Miccrosoft's Merge Replication was their first, and most heavyweight, solution, but now comes a different tack, based on SQL Server 2008 and ADO.… Read more
You'd have thought that a unique constraint was an easy concept - Not a bit of it; it can cause a lot of subtle problems in database designs. Joe Celko goes over the ground of unique keys, primary Keys, foreign keys and constraints.… Read more
It is time to shed light on Data Warehousing and to explain how SSAS, SSRS and Business Intelligence fit into the puzzle. Who better to explain it all then Robert Sheldon.… Read more
.NET Reflector is almost an intrinsic part of the .NET Framework, a free tool for browsing the contents of a .NET assembly. When Lutz Roeder passed responsibility for development of the code to Red Gate, the team preserved the characteristic minimal look, focussing on updates and code improvements. Then they added a free add-in that allowed it to be accessed from within Visual Studio. Reflector Pro is a paid-for extension that allows Visual Studio users to debug code in .NET Reflector.… Read more
In this new column giving practical advice on all things Sys Admin related, Ben Lye takes on the often difficult task of keeping track of mobile device activity… Read more
When you are binding Data to DataGrid in .NET, this has to be done at design-time.
That's fine if you know what the form of the data is at design time: but what if you don't? Vlad Bodurov looks at some of the options and demonstrates an unusual dynamic technique that transforms IDictionary into a typed object… Read more
Neil Hobson writes about the ways that MS Exchange 2007 can ensure that your organisations messaging remains available. He looks at the way that the Mailbox Server role can be made more available using features as Single Copy Clusters, Local Continuous Replication, and Clustered Continuous Replication. He also discusses ways of improving the resilience of the other server roles.… Read more
Silverlight 2 is far more versatile than Silverlight 1. It can handle data-sources with some subtlety. John Papa tackles the whole subject of data-binding with Silverlight. This article is a partial excerpt from John Papa's upcoming book Data Access with Silverlight 2 by O'Reilly, due to be released in December 2008. … Read more
It would seem bizzare that IT staff who depend on their quick wits for their living should ever think it a good idea to fry their brains with recreational drugs. It is therefore worrying to hear that there has been a 34 percent increase in IT employees in the US testing positive for cocaine usage in the workplace. We sent the taciturn Richard Morris to find out more.… Read more
Too many authors in the field of relational theory have neglected the concept of Cardinal Reciprocity. This can cause a number of subtle problems with database design in terms of its derivability, redundancy, and consistency. . Increasingly, this little-understood aspect of relational theory, that emphasises the cardinality of the attributes of tuples in a relation and the reciprocity with isomorphic foreign key restraints, is becoming a hot forum topic.… Read more
