Like many SQL Server (and other technology) people, I utilize several social networking vehicles to stay in touch with others in the SQL community. Some of those who don’t use Facebook and Twitter (among others) have expressed skepticism of the real value of social networking. Does it work? Does it provide any value beyond entertainment? Can it actually help your…
I read a post on Brent Ozar’s blog last week that discussed employers’ expectations when hiring new team members. Though the story was specific to database professionals, the same principles apply to almost any hiring situation. The moral of Brent’s story is that when hiring, just like in real life, you have to compromise what you may really want to stay within…
Have you ever noticed unexpected gaps in sequences in IDENTITY columns? Even though you’ve got transactions set up for your inserts and a no-deletion policy, you find that there are missing values in what should be an unbroken sequence of numbers. The problem could be partially related to transaction rollbacks. Conventional wisdom would lead one to believe that a rolled back…
Should you ever delete data? Data quality is important, and completeness is a measure of the quality of data. Whether you refer to it as data integrity, permanent retention, or simply maintaining a complete audit trail, it can be effectively argued that purging old data clouds the big picture that the data presents. After all, any data that is worthy…
When I talk to other SQL Server professionals, I’m often surprised at how many do not have any involvement in their local SQL Server user group. As best I can tell, the problem is not limited to SQL Server types – many technical pros do not even know that there are user groups in their area, much less participate in…
I’ve seen a good deal of coverage recently that is geared toward those who have recently begun a career as a database professional. Brad McGehee posted this week about some potential topics for a book for new SQL Server developers, and Craig Outcalt is publishing a series of articles on SQLServerCentral.com aimed at new DBAs. Brent Ozar also has a…
Data mining is commonly used to find otherwise undetectable patterns in related sets of data. However, sometimes these patterns provide absolutely useless information. This story on FoxNews.com explains a recent correlation between teens who skip breakfast and those that lose their virginity earlier in life. Interesting information, yes, but what exactly does a parent or other concerned party do with this? Is…
I was tagged by Gail Shaw to post two big mistakes made during my professional career. The only challenge here was to narrow the list down to two 🙂 The first one is very easy. During my early days working with SQL Server, I wore a lot of hats, including that of web developer. One of my first major web projects was…
I’ve read a number of responses from Chris Shaw’s first DBA networking quiz. I missed out on the first one, but I have been tagged by Grant Fritchey for the second round. The Questions for this quiz… What are the largest challenges that you have faced in your career and how did you overcome those? 1) The first one of these, I still…
DBA, database developer, analyst, SQL grunt, or whatever your title may be, there is no question that your role will be evolving in the next few years. I read a couple of posts from Jason Massie about the Death of the DBA (part 1 and part 2) earlier today, in which he predicts a diminishing market for database administrators, and SQL DBAs…