One of my favorite recent additions to SQL Server is the ability to use temporal tables to retain change history. As I wrote in an earlier post on this topic, temporal tables allow one to easily configure a table keep all of the changes (including updated and deleted rows) in a designated history table. In this post, I will share…
Making the most of the SSIS catalog requires an understanding of how to access the information stored in the logging tables. Although there are built-in reports to show this information, there are limitations in their use. Fortunately, the logging tables in the SSIS catalog database are (mostly) straightforward and easy to understand once you’ve worked with them a bit. In…
Before I began my technical career over a decade and a half ago, I spent several years working in law enforcement. In that field, one of the things one must learn quickly is the concept of the chain of custody of evidence. There were numerous procedures we had to follow to ensure that evidence was not just gathered and preserved,…
Is the order of parameters important in SQL Server Reporting Services reports? If you’ve got nested parameters (parameters that derive their value from one or more other parameters), it is very important! In this post, I will show that report parameter order in SSRS matters a lot when parameters are dependent on each other. Report Parameter order in SSRS Using…
So for the latest database geek meme, Paul Randal started this thing off and tagged Tom LaRock, who enlisted Grant Fritchey, who finally tagged me. This one simply asks, “What 3 things or events brought you to where you are today?” The Eyes Barely a year out of high school, I was working full time in retail and occasionally attending…
In the first installment of this discussion, I talked about the challenges facing database professionals and others with respect to healthcare data integration. In this post I’ll talk about the first part of the problem: a lack of adoption of the required technologies and/or methodologies. I’ll also describe when an electronic health record really isn’t. We’ve all seen it; it…
In a previous blog post, I began writing about how one might start a career as a database professional, and agreed to share my own experience in doing so. Since every person and every situation is different, I don’t declare my experience to be a recipe for success, but I’m happy to share it in hopes that someone can learn…