The SSIS expression language is a powerful yet enigmatic entity. Once you get used to its syntax – which is part C#, part T-SQL and part *WTH?!?* – it’s actually somewhat fun to use. However, one thing it is lacking (as far as I can tell – correct me if I’ve missed something) is the ability to use an IF…ELSE…
I just wrapped up a high-octane day of SQL Server community education at SQL Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. This event, the third thus far in a series of training opportunities for SQL Server professionals, is loosely based on the Code Camp model and is billed as a community event. I enjoy these kind of events, having attended several Code Camps…
First it was CNN 24×7. Next the Internet brought us live information from around the globe. Now this… real-time pizza tracking…
I’ve just received notice that I will be a presenter at the upcoming SQL Saturday event in Jacksonville, Florida. I’ll be speaking about the SQL SMO object namespace and how this powerful set of classes can be used to administer SQL Server instances programmatically. I’m looking forward to this opportunity. I’ve not had much experience delivering presentations to those outside…
This weekend, I had the unique opportunity to donate some time to a worthwhile charity organization. Through the efforts of the Dallas-area .NET user group community (and specifically, Toi Wright), Microsoft, BravoTech and a number of other vendors, the first annual We Are Microsoft Charity Challenge was born in a flurry of activity over the last three days. This event…
It seems that I keep inheriting old systems that provide a singular, albeit mission critical, function to their owners. In the majority of these cases, I have encountered numerous small applications that were designed to run in a standalone environment to solve a very narrow problem or set of problems. The person who supports the application – which is very…
After putting it off for six months, I finally took – and passed – 70-431 yesterday. I know, I’m probably one of the last ones on board, but I’m kind of a geek and I don’t want to sit for an exam until I’m really ready. I’ve failed two MS exams and after each failure I was bummed out for…
If you’ve spent much time at all reading Steve Jones’s blog posts and SSC editorials, you quickly glean that he finds working in solitude to be an interesting challenge. I’m sure that others could tell a similar story, but I had not experienced this for myself until recently. An upcoming renovation has forced me out of my permanent office and…
It’s been quite a week at the Gartner Application Development and Integration conference here in Nashville. I’ve never been to a development-focused event that was so abstract and theoretical; in fact, I don’t think I saw a single line of code during the entire conference. My time here started on Sunday afternoon; my flight arrived nearly on time at just…
A few weeks ago I was engaged in a useful discussion about the merits of getting certified on Microsoft SQL Server. A number of people I’ve talked with about the MCDBA certification share my opinion that these tests were too easy and therefore held limited value to one’s career. After all, what does it matter if you have a mess…