The Bit Bucket

This is just a short post that I’ve been meaning to write for a while.

I know that there is an eternal tabs vs spaces debate that goes on in development teams. Currently I’m in the spaces team for SQL queries.

So, it’s a pain in the neck when I receive a script file from someone and it’s full of tabs. Even worse when there are a bunch of tabs at weird tab positions. And I start to edit it, and things jump around, and I think @#$@$!@#$@#$ tabs !

2017-02-28

I’ve worked with T-SQL for a very long time, and over the years I’ve lost count of how many tools I’ve found the need to create to help me in my work.

They have been in a variety of script folders, etc. and whenever I go to use them now, I often have to decide which is the best version of a particular tool, as they’ve also been refined over time.

2017-02-05

Hi folks,

I’ve written another “Data Tales” case for SQL Server Magazine.

It’s posted now and you’ll find it here: http://sqlmag.com/sql-server/data-tales-11-case-ballooning-tables

Enjoy !

2017-01-10

Hi Folks,

I got to record another podcast last week and it’s published now: SQL Down Under Podcast

The guest this time was Data Platform MVP Aaron Bertrand. We initially planned to mostly just discuss SentryOne Plan Explorer because all the Pro features were now available in the free edition, which is an awesome situation. But the release of SQL Server 2016 SP1 came the week before, and as both Aaron and I were deeply invested in the changes that occurred there, we spent time discussing it, and also SQL Server on Linux because the public preview for that was also announced.

2016-11-26

SQL Server Management Studio has moved into the Visual Studio 2015 shell. In general, that’s a really good thing. There are many built-in benefits that come from using that shell. I’ve been showing people many of these. One that surprises many people is the ability to change the font in Object Explorer. No longer do you need to squint at the tiny writing in Object Explorer. You too can change the text in Object Explorer to a readable size (particularly on high-resolution monitors):

2016-11-26

Hi Folks,

The next SQL Down Under show is now online. In it, Glenn Berry discusses hardware and hardware-related performance issues for SQL Server.

You’ll find the show here: SQL Down Under Podcast

Enjoy !

More on Glenn:

Glenn Berry is a Principal Consultant with SQLskills. He has worked as a SQL Server professional for many years in a variety of roles, most recently as Database Architect for Avalara in Parker, CO.

2016-10-16

I ran into this one today and it’s the in the category of things that I’m likely to run into again one day so it’s worth recording it here.

I was trying to configure an unattended execution account for SQL Server Reporting Services 2016 and was getting the above error.

The problem was that even though the machine is just in a workgroup, SQL Server Reporting Services Configuration Manager needs a domain or machine specified for the user name.

2016-09-01

Hi Folks,

I’ve been continuing with my Data Tales series up at sqlmag.com.

This time I’ve written about a pet hate: seeing code that counts rows when all it needs to do is to check for existence. However, all is not as bad as it seems because the optimizer does a pretty good job of protecting us from ourselves. (At least the SQL Server optimizer does )

It’s here: http://sqlmag.com/sql-server/data-tales-10-it-s-matter-existence

Enjoy !

2016-08-25

Hi Folks,

That Power Query webinar that I’m doing for the global Power BI team is on this week.

Love to see you attend.

Registration is here: https://info.microsoft.com/CO-PowerBI-WBNR-FY17-08Aug-25-PowerQuery-PowerBI-Registration.html

2016-08-24

Hi Folks,

I’ve been writing articles for SQL Server Magazine as part of my Data Tales series.

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been writing a min-series about a database on a diet.

Earlier parts described the need for size reduction, how ROW and PAGE compression come into play, how to choose between them, etc.

Part 4 (the final part) is now online here:

http://sqlmag.com/sql-server/data-tales-9-case-database-diet-part-4

It covers GZIP compression of large string fields, PDF size reduction in BLOBS, and more.

2016-08-12