My report from K-MUG TechEd Trivandrum on June 27, 2009, where a PASS Chapter was launched, with thanks to the people who made the day a success.
Auditing Who Changed What, and When
Plan SQL Server auditing around the question you need answered, then distinguish security events from row history, change tracking, and CDC.
Logical Order Is Not Execution Order: A Conversion Error WHERE Missed
Reproduce a conversion error that survives a WHERE filter, inspect optimizer choices, and replace fragile casts with TRY_CONVERT or proper types.
SQL SERVER – Languages for BI – MDX, DMX, XMLA
A friend knew BI means Business Intelligence but asked which languages it uses. Quick definitions of MDX, DMX and XMLA, the languages of SQL Server BI.
SUM ROWS Versus RANGE: Ties Change a Running Total
SUM ROWS versus RANGE defines different running positions. Keep tie-breaking and peer grouping explicit when comparing the resulting totals.
CAST Without a Length: The Default Can Truncate Text
CAST Without a Length can silently choose a target width that is too short for the source text. I compare omitted and explicit lengths. The same conversion syntax can look harmless while losing the end of a string.
CROSS APPLY VALUES: Unpivot Fixed Columns and Preserve NULLs
CROSS APPLY VALUES can turn a fixed set of columns into rows without dropping their NULL values. I make any missing-value filter explicit. That keeps the reshaping step separate from the decision to exclude data.
SQLAuthority News – MVP Award Renewed
Microsoft has renewed my SQL Server MVP award for another year. A short note of thanks to everyone who helped make this proud moment possible.
SQL SERVER – Difference between Line Feed (\n) and Carriage Return (\r) – T-SQL New Line Char
What is the difference between Line Feed (\n) and Carriage Return (\r)? Why Windows, Mac and Unix read a new line differently, and what it means in T-SQL.
SQL SERVER – 2008 – Policy-Based Management – Create, Evaluate and Fix Policies
An introduction to Policy-Based Management in SQL Server 2008: facets, conditions, policies, and how to create, evaluate and fix non-complying policies.