EditorsBlog

A question I often ask as I do presentations around the world is who has studied any Database Design subjects at university? What I am trying to gauge when I ask this question is the number of people who have been exposed to set based theory. Time and time again I find that it is only a handful of people that have had any formal higher education in databases. I for one think that the best way to learn is on the job experience; however, I think a lot can be said for having a good grounding in the basics of set theory.

Time and time again when I look at data access code it is procedural based. That is, the developer is trying to tell SQL Server what to do rather then what they want returned. A developer typically thinks about code in the format For i = 1 to Count. Hence, the reason that many problems are solved as cursor based solutions rather than set based solutions.

When you look at any line of business application there are very few if any that do not have a database. So why do higher education intuitions continue to ignore database design in favour of the hottest new development language?

- Peter Ward

I have started to count down the number of sleeps until Christmas and the Advent calendar is already indicating that there are only three weeks until Christmas. As soon as Christmas arrives the year is basically over, as most companies will start to wind down in preparation for 2009. There have been a number of announcements that SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3 would be released in the final quarter of 2008; however, this is starting to look unlikely—especially considering we are getting so close to Christmas.

The Beta of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista has just been announced, only 10 months after Service Pack 1 for Vista was released on the 4th of February this year. So why is it that a Service Pack for Vista can be released so quickly whereas it is getting close to two years since the release of SQL Server 2005 SP2? Do you think that SQL Server 2005 SP3 will be released in 2008 or will Vista SP2 RTM be first?

- Peter Ward

One of the challenges of working with databases is how to effectively test changes to them. For example, if the size of a data type is changed or a column is re-named, how do you go about testing all of the processes that potentially touch the column? I have come across all sorts of different approaches that teams use in order to try and test changes to the database. These have included everything from manual testing through to fully automated test harnesses.

Many people have commented that Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition (aka 'Data Dude') is a product not worth paying for. Especially when there are so many third party tools that perform many of the functions included with Data Dude at significantly lower price points. However, one area where Data Dude does excel is in the area of integrated and automating testing capabilities. It is great to see that the product team continues to develop and enhance the features that are available in Data Dude. A new GDR for Data Dude has been released which can be downloaded from here. Although this release contains some important new features, is the cost of Data Dude really worth it?

- Peter Ward

I had a meeting with a client this afternoon and towards the end I was asked a question that stumped me. The question was not technical based; it was 'why would you use SQL Server over Oracle?' To be honest my experience with Oracle is fairly limited and to answer this question accurately would require someone who has field experience with both products. Although I have worked with Oracle in the past it has been in integration and development roles.

From what I read and from talking to Oracle DBA's the big difference between SQL Server and Oracle appears to be the manageability of the database platform. The other major difference is that SQL Server comes with many features that Oracle charges additional for. Although this might have been the case in the past, many people would argue that unless someone purchases SQL Server Enterprise Edition they do not get access to all of the features of SQL Server. I thought the customer I had the meeting with today summed the difference between the two platforms perfectly with the following statement: 'The biggest problem with SQL Server is that it has the word Microsoft in the product name'. So why do you think an organisation should choose Oracle over SQL Server?

- Peter Ward

I have spent the last few days training in Hobart, which is in Tasmania, the southernmost state in Australia. Today I took the day off to spend some time in Richmond, which is a 30-minute drive from the centre of Hobart. Richmond is famous because it is home to the oldest bridge in Australia. The bridge was constructed in 1833. Although the bridge is 175 years old, it is still being driven on. When this bridge was built cars were not even invented and the bridge would only have been used by horses and carriages. However, the construction was so good that it has been able to adapt with the changing needs.

I often think that when a lot of software applications are devolved they are designed with a short-term focus. The average lifespan for software in just over five years; however, often applications are shipped without a solid foundation. So no matter what a company does to the application, they are simply building on top of a house of cards. When you design a schema, do you think about the fact that your database may still be in use in 10 years time?

- Peter Ward

One of the SQL Server forums that I often read had a joke today that I thought was appropriate considering tomorrow is Thanksgiving. A SQL query goes into a bar, walks up to two tables and says, "Can I join you". Thanksgiving is a traditional North American holiday and an opportunity for families to spend time together. However you plan on spending Thanksgiving this year I hope that it is a safe and happy holiday for you.

- Peter Ward

I was having a chat to several people today during a break in a training course and the question came up of 'who owns the data in a database?' I'm not sure if it was because I was talking to a group of Database Administrators but the overwhelming response was the DBA team. I on the other hand had a very different opinion. As a true consult my response is that it depends.

I agree that a DBA has ownership of the management of the database server, but the owner of the actual data varies between each individual organisation. For example, the financial transactions of a corporation are owned by the stakeholders in the business. Whereas the patient records in a medical centre are owned by the individual patient. Any changes to the data should not be made without the approval of the owner of the data or a data custodian. In your organisation, who own the data?

- Peter Ward

There are times when you will visit a restaurant and the food is not up to scratch or perhaps the service was poor. When asked by the staff at the restaurant about the experience, people will often say that everything is fine. Likewise though, even if the restaurant was perfect in every way people will still respond with everything is fine. Unless the restaurant experience was extremely bad people will put up with it and not say anything. The problem with the feedback process is that it is an unknown quantity. As the manager may or may not respond to the complaint.

The current Microsoft Connect process is very similar. As despite going to an effort to make a complaint and log a bug the process can be a similar black whole. When a bug is submitted to Connect a person has identified a problem and taken the time to fill in the bug submission process. However, unless feedback on the issue is provided the customer is never satisfied. What has your experience been using the connect process to log an issue with Microsoft?

- Peter Ward

A question that I have been asked a lot this week while attending PASS is 'what are some good resources to find out more information about SQL Server?' The availability of online information on SQL Server is extremely prevalent; however, it can be a bit like a bag of liquorice allsorts sweets—some sources are better than others. The quality of some of the information that can be found using your search engine of choice is fairly poor and will often perpetuate myths about SQL Server. For example, if you have a database corruption you will often read that the first thing to do is detach and reattach the database.

Although online resources are a great way to find out information about SQL Server one of the most important things is to verify the validity of the information. A bit like the television show Mythbusters you need to ensure that you test the procedure especially before trying it on production. I would be interested to know what resources you turn to and trust for information of SQL Server.

- Peter Ward

At the moment a lot of DBA's appear to be struggling with the rapid pace of change with SQL Server. Although change is something that we are all used to in the IT sector, the release pace of SQL Server seems to be gathering momentum. Many organisations are only just starting to adopt SQL Server 2005 and already SQL Server 2008 has been released. Microsoft has recently announced that the SQL Server add-on release, which is currently code-named Kilimanjaro, will be available in the first half of 2010. Close on its heals will be the next release of SQL Server which will be approximately 36 months after the release of SQL Server 2008. Now we all know that release dates can and do slip; however, the fact that there will be three SQL Server releases in the space of four years is a lot of new skills for someone to learn. On top of this, there is the whole cloud computing initiative, which is now in CTP. Are you finding that it is hard to keep pace with the rapid release cycle for SQL Server?

- Peter Ward

As a result of the current economic conditions many organisations are looking for any way they can to cut costs. One of the first places that organisations look to cut costs is the training budget. Rather than being able to attend several technical conferences a year many employees will be limited to attending one conference if they are lucky.

These days there are a large number of SQL Server conferences to choose from. These range from events such as Tech-Ed and PDC to SQL Server specific events such as PASS and SQL Server Connections. As funding for training becomes harder to access organisations start to look a lot closer at the business benefits that attending a conference will provide. The biggest issue with this is that conferences often focus on the latest cutting edge technology; however, companies are not using the latest technologies. As a result management will often question the need for training when the technology has not yet been adopted. With all the conferences available how do you determine which conference to attend?

- Peter Ward

Microsoft often uses large conferences as an opportunity to make significant new announcements. This year the lock note at Tech-Ed South Africa was used to announce SQL Server 2008 and the SQL Server BI conference was used to reveal plans for SQL Server 'Kilimanjaro'. The SQL Server PASS Community Summit is the world's largest SQL Server conference and is the perfect opportunity to make a big announcement. What do you think will be announced in the PASS keynote this year? Will it be more cloud computing initiatives or will this be the 'real' release of SQL Server 2008?

- Peter Ward

A lot of people do not like flying for various reasons; this can be because of a fear of flight or maybe it is because of other reasons such as a dislike of the food (or lack thereof) served on flights. However, I think the biggest reason that people do not like flying is due to the inconvenience of airport security. In fact I know some people that will not fly unless there is no other transport alternative available. Although security is extremely important I think that the biggest issue is the inconsistency in security practices when flying. For example, some airports require belts and shoes to be taken off whereas other airports don't require these procedures to be followed. As a result of this inconsistency the security lines can often be chaos in an airport as people are unsure of what do to.

This consistency is something that is not only important in airport security but also in a SQL Server environment. For example, if the maintenance jobs are named MAINT on one server and DBA on another server, then the same chaos can occur. It means that a database administrator is unsure of what the job does and needs to check what the procedure is. Do you have a standard nomenclature and build process that you use to ensure that each SQL Server instance in your environment is consistent?

- Peter Ward

I have just finished delivering a Reporting Services training course in Canberra today and I am writing this editorial from the QANTAS Club while waiting for my flight home to Brisbane. I will be home for about 12 hours before I head back to the QANTAS club to wait for my flight tomorrow to Los Angeles through to Seattle for the SQL PASS Community Summit. I have just finished chatting to a colleague who could not understand why I would want to head all the way to Seattle for a conference when you can now access so much content online.

There are two reasons that I am attending the conference, the first is that I am presenting, but the second and most important reason is the opportunity to catch-up with people that I often communicate electronically with but only get to talk face to face with when at a conference. I think one of the most important components of communication is the 'face-to-face time' and the ability to share a beer with someone. So if you will be in Seattle at PASS next week make sure you look out for me, as I would love to buy you a beer especially if you are interested in writing an article for SQL-Server-Performance.com.

- Peter Ward

I have been working with an organisation of late that develops shrink wrap software. Over the last few days they have been preparing for an upcoming major release and I have certainly had my eyes open to what I think is the best testing and release methodology that I have seen in a long time. All too often software is released that is not ready for production. I think the desire for companies to ship software before it is ready is a direct result of the influence that Web 2.0 has had on software engineering. Most Web 2.0 applications that are released are shipped extremely quickly and have a Beta label slapped on them in order to justify the reason that the application is full of bugs.

The problem with this influence is that Microsoft appears to be taking a similar approach with the CTP release cycle. Rather than testing software using internal processes it appears that more and more responsibility for testing is being placed on people that download CTP software. It is not the responsibility of people that participate in the CTP release cycle to identify and log bug reports. The reason that people want involvement in the CTP programme is to test internal applications against new versions of software and not to test the software release. Do you think that more bugs are being released in SQL Server as a result of the CTP programme?

- Peter Ward