In case you haven’t had a chance to play with them Common Table Expressions (CTEs) are pretty cool. Basically you can define a temp table and do operations against that table all on one statement. One of the things I’ve found most awesome about CTEs is using them for recursive logic! Here’s a contrived example…
Category: Microsoft SQL
70-432: What Kind of Account?
When you start preparing for the 70-432, one of the first topics you’ll have to get used to is choosing the appropriate type of account you need to use for different types of access to your SQL server. You’ll need to be able to recognize the differences in access you get when you choose a…
70-432: Recovery Models
I’m back to studying for the 70-432. That means it’s time to cover another topic you’ll need to be familiar with in order to pass this exam. Today’s topic is Recovery Models. There are three recovery modelsavailable to you in SQL 2008. Simple Full Bulk Logged To pass the 70-432, you’re going to need to…
Meme Monday: 99 Problems
SQLRockstar (Thomas LaRock) has another interesting suggestion to blog about for today’s meme monday. He suggested we share some the things that go wrong with our database servers that aren’t related to the disk. Memory Settings Up until Sunday morning, our servers were running with 8gb of RAM, and had “max server memory” set to…
70-433: So, When Do You Want To Use Triggers?
Ok, let’s cover another topic you’ll need to know in order to pass the 70-433. You’re going to need to be familiar with what triggers can do. When you get ready for the 70-451, you’ll need to know more about when triggers should be used. I wanted to use the scene from Raiders of the…
70-432: Know Your Constraints
When you’re getting ready for the 70-433, you’re going to want to be familiar with constraints. They’re useful tools for setting up data integrity checks inside the database itself. Yeah, I’m going to reference The Matrix here, but learning to manipulate Constraints is a little like learning to bend spoons. There Is No Spoon The…
70-432:Managing Full Text indexes
While preparing for the 70-432 I’m digging in to Full Text indexing a bit more than I have before. Today, I want to cover a fairly simple topic, when do you know you need to update your Full Text index? Let’s cover a couple scenarios I’ve seen in the past that were solved by performing…
70-432:Move Your Data Files
Another task you’ll need to be familiar with is moving your databases’ data files and log files. I usually have to do this right after I have a new server built, and the system’s administrator installs SQL for me. They mean well, they really do, but they aren’t expected to know the performance hit you…
Preparing For The 70-432
I’ve passed both of the Database Developer exams. Now, I’m going to start on the Administration exams. I’ve already purchased The self-paced guide. I’ve also scanned through the materials. What I want to do is make this guide a bit more conversational. I honestly believe that’s one of the missing bits when it comes to…
I’m a MCITP, now what?
It’s been a few days shy of two months since I got my MCTS: SQL Server 2008, Database Development, I passed the 70-51. As a result, I’m now a MCITP: Database developer. I’ve been pushing pretty hard to get this one out of the way so I can begin my training for the administrator track. …