Database Files & Objects – Part 4

Today, I will be continuing my talk on database objects that can be viewed through the system catalog views or system stored procedures. A Microsoft SQL Server database is composed of many different objects. We will be investigating how to retrieve information on these objects in the [MATH] sample database. Please see my first article that creates this database. I will be focusing on functions, stored procedures, triggers and views in this article. Let’s use the USE statement to select the sample database.

VIEWS – MSDN QUOTE: “A view…

Database Files & Objects – Part 3

Today, I will be continuing my talk on database objects that can be viewed through the system catalog views or system stored procedures. A Microsoft SQL Server database is composed of many different objects. We will be reviewing how to retrieve information on these objects in the [MATH] sample database. Please see my first article that creates this database. I will be focusing on tables, columns, indexes, and constraints in this article. Let’s use the USE statement to select the sample database.

The most basic component of a database…

Database Files & Objects – Part 2

Today, I will be continuing my talk on database files and database objects that can be viewed through the system catalog views or system stored procedures. A Microsoft SQL Server database is composed of at least two operating system files: a primary data file and a transaction log file. A secondary data files can be used to implement table partitioning or storage of data on different disks by filegroup. If we want to get a simple list of all the databases on the server, one can execute the sp_helpdb system…

Database Files & Objects – Part 1

I am currently reading Kalen Delany and others book on SQL Server 2008 System internals. If you have not read this book from cover to cover, you should. It has a wealth of knowledge about database engine details. To demonstrate key ideas from the book, I am going to expand on the [MATH] database that contains PRIME numbers. The trial division algorithm inside this database uses a brute force method for calculating prime numbers. This article will focus on files and objects that can be viewed through the system views,…

Basic Training – Data Types – Part 6

I am continuing my series of talks on fundamental topics like data types. I am proud to be a United States Army Reservist (USAR) Veteran. Just like boot camp I went to so long ago, I am going nick name the series BASIC TRAINING. The most basic unit of any database is a TABLE which consists of COLUMNS. A vital decision during the initial database design is to choose the data types that will capture the information you want in the least amount of space. Today, I am exploring binary…

Basic Training – Data Types – Part 5

I am continuing my series of talks on fundamental topics like data types. I am proud to be a United States Army Reservist (USAR) Veteran. Just like boot camp I went to so long ago, I am going nick name the series BASIC TRAINING. The most basic unit of any database is a TABLE which consists of COLUMNS. A vital decision during the initial database design is to choose the data types that will capture the information you want in the least amount of space. Today, I am exploring date…

Basic Training – Data Types – Part 4

I am continuing my series of talks on fundamental topics like data types. I am proud to be a United States Army Reservist (USAR) Veteran. Just like boot camp I went to so long ago, I am going nick name the series BASIC TRAINING. The most basic unit of any database is a TABLE which consists of COLUMNS. A vital decision during the initial database design is to choose the data types that will capture the information you want in the least amount of space. Today, I am exploring unicode…

Basic Training – Data Types – Part 3

I am continuing my series of talks on fundamental topics like data types. I am proud to be a United States Army Reservist (USAR) Veteran. Just like boot camp I went to so long ago, I am going nick name the series BASIC TRAINING. The most basic unit of any database is a TABLE which consists of COLUMNS. A vital decision during the initial database design is to choose the data types that will capture the information you want in the least amount of space. Today, I am exploring character…

Basic Training – Data Types – Part 2

I am continuing my series of talks on fundamental topics like data types. I am a proud United States Army Reservist (USAR) Veteran. Just like boot camp I went to so long ago, I am going nick name the series BASIC TRAINING. The most basic unit of any database is a TABLE which consists of COLUMNS. The most important decision during the initial database design is to choose the data types that will capture the information you want in the least amount of space. Today, we are reviewing Approximate Numerical…

Basic Training – Data Types – Part 1

Just the other day, I was tasked with redesigning a data warehouse’s star schema that grew to over 4 terabytes in size. After completing the project, I realized that if the original designers knew more about storage (data types, data pages, index pages), the explosive growth would have not been so bad. I ended up putting the database on a diet of daily table partitions and page compression. Today, the database is 20% of it’s orginal size. In short, I am going to start off a series of talks covering…