Stamford – SQL Server User Group

I am delighted about the opportunity to present to the Stamford SQL Server User Group on December 16, 2013. I have not had the pleasure in visiting UCONN’s campus in Stamford, CT. In fact, I have not been in that city since SQL Saturday New York last August. I am looking forward to seeing Tim Harkin and meeting members of his group. To finish the night, I will definitely be stopping at the Southport Brewing Company Restaurant before I go home. Here is the gritty details of the presentation that…

Hartford – SQL Server User Group

I am driving to the Insurance City to present to the Hartford SQL Server User Group on November 19, 2013. To-date, I have not been to Microsoft building in Farmington, CT. It should be quite an adventure. I am looking forward to seeing John Flannery and meeting members of his group. Here is the gritty details of the presentation that I will be covering that night. Topic: How isolated are your sessions? Abstract: Have you ever executed a T-SQL program that crashed due to an integrity error? Upon inspecting the…

Providence – SQL Server User Group

I am driving thru America’s Renaissance City, Providence Rhode Island, to present to the Southern New England SQL Server User Group (SNESSUG) on November 13, 2013. I always love the home team advantage by knowing the audience very well. It makes for a relaxing environment to teach and attendees to learn. Here is the gritty details of the presentation that I will be covering that night.     Topic: How isolated are your sessions? Abstract: Have you ever executed a T-SQL program that crashed due to an integrity error? Upon…

Portsmouth – SQL Server User Group

I am delighted about the opportunity to present to the Seacoast SQL Server User Group on October 28, 2013. I have not been to New Hampshire since SQL Saturday #146. It will be great to see Mike/Jack again and chat with the user group next week. Topic: Effective Data Warehouse Storage Patterns Abstract: Many companies start off with a simple data mart for reporting. As the company grows, users become dependent on the data mart for monitoring and making decisions on Key Performance Indicators (KPI). Unexpected information growth in your…

Page Anatomy – Part 2

I am going continue my series of articles describing how information is stored and organized in a Microsoft SQL Server database. Today, I am going to talk about the Database Boot Page. All of the information is a gleamed from SQL Server 2008 Internals book by Kalen Delaney. If it is not on your bookshelf, I suggest you go out and by a copy. The online MCM training videos from Paul Randal are also an excellent resource. A single page (8K) is the smallest unit in which SQL Server allocates…

Page Anatomy – Part 1

I am going start a series of articles describing how information is stored and organized in a Microsoft SQL Server database. Today, I am going to talk about the File Header Page. Every database is defined by at least two file types. The first file type is one primary (*.mdf) data file with zero or more optional secondary (*.ndf) data files. The second file type are log (*.ldf) files. We will be looking at the primary data file during these talks. All of the information is a gleamed from SQL…

Conversion Functions – TRY_PARSE()

I am going to bring closure to my series of very short articles on type conversion functions available in the Transaction SQL (T-SQL) language. One analogy of a data type conversion is apply the correct action to change the physical form of water (H2O). You can convert water to ice by cooling it. You can convert water to vapor by heating it. However, the chemical composition of water is still the same! Information is stored in a database as rows in a table. Each field in a table is defined…

Conversion Functions – TRY_CAST()

I am going to make headway on my series of articles (tidbits) on type conversion functions available in the Transaction SQL (T-SQL) language. One analogy of a data type conversion is apply the correct action to change the physical form of water (H2O). You can convert water to ice by cooling it. You can convert water to vapor by heating it. However, the chemical composition of water is still the same! Information is stored in a database as rows in a table. Each field in a table is defined with…

Conversion Functions – TRY_CONVERT()

I am going to carry on with my series of articles (tidbits) on type conversion functions available in the Transaction SQL (T-SQL) language. One analogy of a data type conversion is apply the correct action to change the physical form of water (H2O). You can convert water to ice by cooling it. You can convert water to vapor by heating it. However, the chemical composition of water is still the same! Information is stored in a database as rows in a table. Each field in a table is defined with…

Conversion Functions – PARSE()

I am going to continue the series of articles (tidbits) on type conversion functions available in the Transaction SQL (T-SQL) language. One analogy of a data type conversion is apply the correct action to change the physical form of water (H2O). You can convert water to ice by cooling it. You can convert water to vapor by heating it. However, the chemical composition of water is still the same! Information is stored in a database as rows in a table. Each field in a table is defined with a certain…