speakTECH - BI

SQL Server Data Services - Sample Code! by Gus Collazo

Zeeshan — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 08:42:00 GMT

For those of you who read my earlier post (SQL Server Data Services, Part Uno!) and have signed up for the beta program (SSDS Beta Signup), here are a few pointers to sample code you can use to try out SQL Server Data Services (SSDS).

First, check out CodePlex. This page has source code for a few sample applications such as a Guestbook client and Tasklist application which utilize SSDS.

Another good link is SSDS Examples. It includes most of the above samples, but with more details on how each sample works and information on what areas of SSDS each sample showcases.

Download the samples, check them out, and check back with this blog in a few weeks. I'll dissect the code in some of the samples by then and blog about what I find. SSDS is shaping up to be a great platform for building SQL Server applications without the need for building up your own data center first! These samples are just the tip of the iceberg and greater and more comprehensive sample code is surely coming down the pipeline. Stay tuned!

SQL Server 2008... free shot at certification! by Gus Collazo

Zeeshan — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:41:00 GMT

Hi everyone, with SQL Server 2008's launch just around the corner, Microsoft has announced 2 new certification exams:

Beta Exam 71-452: Designing a Business Intelligence Infrastructure Using Microsoft SQL Server 2008
Beta Exam 71-450: PRO: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Designing, Optimizing, and Maintaining a Database Administrative Solution

The exams are currently in beta so Microsoft is offering them for free at the moment (while seats are available). Just visit http://www.register.prometric.com/ClientInformation.asp and sign up for one of these above tests. On the final screen where you are prompted to pay for the test, simply enter one of the promo codes below to take the test for free:

Beta Exam 71-452: Promo Code is 3568C
Beta Exam 71-450: Promo Code is 239F4

To get ready for these exams, read the study guides below

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-450.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/exams/70-452.mspx

If you need some motivation and want to find out why you should get certified (besides the fact that it's free!), read this:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcpexams/faq/benefits.mspx

Finally, you might be asking yourself "how the heck am I supposed to take a certification test for SQL Server 2008 when I've never even used SQL Server 2008?". Well, you're covered there too. Read my earlier blog on signing up for a free account that allows you to access a virtual machine with SQL Server 2008 installed:

http://blogs.officezealot.com/speaktech-bi/archive/2008/04/15/try-out-sql-server-2008-the-easy-way-by-gus-collazo.aspx

Happy testing everyone! :)

SQL Server Data Services, Part Uno! by Gus Collazo

Zeeshan — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:40:00 GMT

SQL Server Data Services is Microsoft's exciting addition to their Software Plus Services strategy! It's an on-demand data storage and retrieval service that will offer customers data access from anywhere on the Web. A few good points about this new service (as of the time of this writing):

Microsoft has placed no limits on the amount of data that can be stored!
It will support the XML standards-based Representation State Transfer (REST) and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) interfaces
Microsoft will provide VB.Net and C# client libraries to access the service.
Microsoft will support Language-Integrated Query (LINQ)-based data access to the service.
Microsoft will store the data on their own servers and will provide geo-redundant data for disaster recovery. You'll always have access to your data!
All data transfer between the client and the service will be secured via Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

The above is just a quick summary I gleaned from http://www.sqlmag.com/ (98881), but you can learn more by visiting http://www.microsoft.com/sql/dataservices/default.mspx as well. The service is in beta now, but you can signup now for it and start exploring the service!

Stay tuned for more updates as I dive into this latest offering from Microsoft.

Microsoft's Common Solutions for T-SQL Problems by Gus Collazo

Zeeshan — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:05:00 GMT

Hey everyone, Happy 4th fo July! I ran across this nice article by Microsoft with detailed solutions to some of the more common T-SQL problems you may encounter. Check it out!

http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/SQLExamples

A simpler alternative to backing up data in SQL Server by Gus Collazo

Zeeshan — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:27:00 GMT

There are times when creating a database backup is not convenient. For example, you may be connected remotely to a SQL Server and not have access to the backup files that may be created. For times like these, I love the SSMS Tools Pack. You can find this handy gem of a SQL Server addon at http://www.ssmstoolspack.com/Download.aspx.

Once you download and install the addon, run SQL Server Management Studio and right-click on the database you'd like to backup. Notice the "SSMS Tools\Generate Insert Statements" command in the popup menu. This handy command will create a script file with INSERT statements for every tables in your database. You can then copy and paste these commands to another SQL Server to recreate the data there or just keep the script tucked away as a handy script-based backup of your data.

Check it out! The tools pack also has many other features for you to explore such as a query history and text regions for your SQL code, but I find the Generate Insert Statements my favorite tool in this addon by far.

--Gus