Right- i need training!

Hi all,

my collegue is leaving, his masters in computer science has ensured he has solved most problems we've encountered iver two years...

now im told i need at least a few training sessions under my belt to take over parts of his job.

Basically i need sql server traing and vb but am confused as where to start, a lot of the courses ive looked at assume you have knowledge in certain areas, my problem is i have loads of gaps as ive learnt on the job so need some recommendations- are any of the MS courses geared to people like me or do you need a foundation in the subject...ive read stuff like SAMS teachyourself SQL and found it just doesn't go deep enough...too many examples are just skimmed over...it also doesn't teach you the kind of things i learn here...

im happy to go on a course which repeats stuff i already know whilst teaching me the fundamentals but can only seem to find course geared to specific job roles which require prior knowledge- so where did you guys start? im in the UK btw

gregI found a good book called "SQL Server 2000 Programming by Example" at Half Price Books. The isbn is 0-7897-2449-9. It's a bit dated, but if you're working with SQL Server 2000, then I say T-SQL is T-SQL. :)

hth and cheers.|||I learned on the job, and I read the manuals cover to cover, no matter how boring (or I did, way back in the day when you actually got a manual).|||I read Books Online. If you read it and work through the examples, you'll have a really good understanding of T-SQL and MS SQL Server when you are done. I also like any book by Ken Henderson or Kalen Delaney.|||True, you have many opportunities with the latest CYBER avaiability on web such as GOOGLE and other search engines. Review the content as suggested below and keep in touch with forums, even by referring to the questions posted you will learn a lot.|||nice one, will look at those suggestions,.

i also found this:
MCSA/MCSE/MCDBA Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 System Administration, Exam 70-228, Second Edition

looks like it could teach me a lot.

so are you guys dba's? or have you gone further?

greg|||derrick did you buys these online books or are they available to view?

greg|||Books Online is free. Start/Programs/Microsoft SQL Server/Books Online.

The books by Kalen Delaney and Ken Henderson are available online at any bookstore website. I like bookpool.com personally.|||hey, just ask your questions here...we always like puzzles...just read the hint sticky at the top of the forum...

as for vb...sorry...you shouldn't have to be a backend AND front end guy|||i also found this:
MCSA/MCSE/MCDBA Self-Paced Training Kit: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 System Administration, Exam 70-228, Second Edition

From the sounds of things, you may want something more along the lines of database developer, as opposed to architect/dba

If I'm wrong, then it might be what you're looking for.

Carl|||You can download updated Books ONline BOL from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=a6f79cb1-a420-445f-8a4b-bd77a7da194b&DisplayLang=en here.|||Hi,

bit of an update, my boss would like me to become a mcdba so i can handle pretty much anything that happens with the IT team(we have two mcse's here too).

Therefore i need to understand architecture, procedures, standard practices and developing but not to a hugely in-depth level...i work at a school so alot of the coding is pretty straight forward and we dont have huge number of records:

essentially:
daily maintenance: backups, transactions, security, users, t-sql, server 2000/2003/2005 differences etc etc - hardware end

database developing: our off-the-shelf doesn't work properly (no primary keys) so a new database needs to be created module by module, this has been done but now the author is leaving. need to understand the logic behind his practices- covers the coding end.

the mcdba looks to cover all of this, may be overkill but it cant hurt to be over qualified (and they are paying!!) - so am looking to do the prerequisite course which focuses on t-sql...

therefore i think looking through the books mentioned will help no end, ive got exam questions for the various modules to give me an idea of what they expect...guess my answer is can i expect to pass with no previous formal computer training- happy to work my arse off but am hoping the course wont be to in-depth for me to progress in it.

cheers
greg|||Congratulations. It should be an exciting time for you. Since you are studying for the official certs, check out the free training on the microsoft website right now. They are offering tons of courses now, with the ramp-up of 2005.

Reusability in SSIS?

Something in another thread spurred me to post about this, wondering if others have solved this, or what workarounds they might be using.
Suppose we want to do the same operation on more than one column, or the same data transformation in more than one data flow, or in more than one package.
I don't know how to reuse anything in SSIS, except by copying & pasting and creating a second (or third, ...) copy.
I'm reluctant to copy & paste expressions or boxes or entire data flows, because (a) any change has to be made multiple times, and (b) if someone later changes one copy without realizing that there are other copies, they might go out of sync (I've seen this happen and lead to time-consuming debugging sessions).
The only answer that I've figured out is to push operations out of SSIS into the T-SQL world, where reusability is easy (and familiar) -- make UDFs, views, sprocs to do operations, and call them from multiple locations in the SSIS packages.
However, I don't know how to reuse expression operations in this fashion, because apparently I cannot call UDFs from Derived Column Expressions.
I suppose another solution, at least for little items such as expressions, would be to make changes across all versions by doing automated search & replace operations across all the dtsx files -- I've not done this, and am a little hesitant to do automated changes to dtsx files. Is anyone doing this happily?
Perry,
I certainly wouldn't want to do automated changes to the XML in a .dtsx file - I reckon that's fraught with danger.

At the moment the only unit of reusability is a package. In other words, seperate operations that you want to do more than once into a seperate package and call it using the Execute Package Task. You can't even call a data-flow from multiple points in the same package which really frustrates me - I don't think it would be that hard to implement.

Reusability is an area in which MS need to make giant strides in vNext and I'm quite sure they're aware of this. I dare say its high priority in the features list for vNext. Its certainly something I keep bringing up and I'm sure Kirk Haselden is fed up of me banging on about it by now :)

I have had some ideas about how reusability might be accomplished. My main idea is that, just as packages can be saved as .dtsx files, how about saving pre-configured tasks/components (e.g. A derived column transform that parses a date from a web log file or a Web Service Task that connects to a given web service) as .dtsx files (or perhaps .taskx/.comx files or something) and then being able to use them in a package just as you would a regular task or component. Now the unit of reusability is a task or a component instead of just a package. These pre-packaged tasks/components could be left as files or deployed up to a server just as you do with a package. If you could make them appear in the BIDS toolbox - so much the better!!!

Pre-configured expressions is an interesting subject and I envisage that this could be done in a similar way.

The other really compelling method of reusability would be the ability to build brand new custom data-flow components from existing pre-configured components without writing any code. For example I have a text file source adapter pointing at a web log file and a derived column transform that parses that web log file. Imagine if I could select those 2 components, right-click and select something like "Build new component" and it goes away and builds me a brand new distributable custom source adapter that does exactly the same as what those 2 components do together. This is something I've previously talked about here: http://blogs.conchango.com/jamiethomson/archive/2005/05/26/1470.aspx and is something that really really excites me - if its something that MS can achieve!!!

I've wittered on a bit here...I'll stop now :)

-Jamie|||We have implemented an extension of the standard Microsoft Script Task. It allows the implementation of your own script's user interface and has better script reusability. This can can be used as alternative to implementing a full blown custom SSIS control flow task. For more information please visit: http://www.cozyroc.com/products.html

Regards,
Ivan

Reusability in SSIS?

Something in another thread spurred me to post about this, wondering if others have solved this, or what workarounds they might be using.
Suppose we want to do the same operation on more than one column, or the same data transformation in more than one data flow, or in more than one package.
I don't know how to reuse anything in SSIS, except by copying & pasting and creating a second (or third, ...) copy.
I'm reluctant to copy & paste expressions or boxes or entire data flows, because (a) any change has to be made multiple times, and (b) if someone later changes one copy without realizing that there are other copies, they might go out of sync (I've seen this happen and lead to time-consuming debugging sessions).
The only answer that I've figured out is to push operations out of SSIS into the T-SQL world, where reusability is easy (and familiar) -- make UDFs, views, sprocs to do operations, and call them from multiple locations in the SSIS packages.
However, I don't know how to reuse expression operations in this fashion, because apparently I cannot call UDFs from Derived Column Expressions.
I suppose another solution, at least for little items such as expressions, would be to make changes across all versions by doing automated search & replace operations across all the dtsx files -- I've not done this, and am a little hesitant to do automated changes to dtsx files. Is anyone doing this happily?
Perry,
I certainly wouldn't want to do automated changes to the XML in a .dtsx file - I reckon that's fraught with danger.

At the moment the only unit of reusability is a package. In other words, seperate operations that you want to do more than once into a seperate package and call it using the Execute Package Task. You can't even call a data-flow from multiple points in the same package which really frustrates me - I don't think it would be that hard to implement.

Reusability is an area in which MS need to make giant strides in vNext and I'm quite sure they're aware of this. I dare say its high priority in the features list for vNext. Its certainly something I keep bringing up and I'm sure Kirk Haselden is fed up of me banging on about it by now :)

I have had some ideas about how reusability might be accomplished. My main idea is that, just as packages can be saved as .dtsx files, how about saving pre-configured tasks/components (e.g. A derived column transform that parses a date from a web log file or a Web Service Task that connects to a given web service) as .dtsx files (or perhaps .taskx/.comx files or something) and then being able to use them in a package just as you would a regular task or component. Now the unit of reusability is a task or a component instead of just a package. These pre-packaged tasks/components could be left as files or deployed up to a server just as you do with a package. If you could make them appear in the BIDS toolbox - so much the better!!!

Pre-configured expressions is an interesting subject and I envisage that this could be done in a similar way.

The other really compelling method of reusability would be the ability to build brand new custom data-flow components from existing pre-configured components without writing any code. For example I have a text file source adapter pointing at a web log file and a derived column transform that parses that web log file. Imagine if I could select those 2 components, right-click and select something like "Build new component" and it goes away and builds me a brand new distributable custom source adapter that does exactly the same as what those 2 components do together. This is something I've previously talked about here: http://blogs.conchango.com/jamiethomson/archive/2005/05/26/1470.aspx and is something that really really excites me - if its something that MS can achieve!!!

I've wittered on a bit here...I'll stop now :)

-Jamie|||We have implemented an extension of the standard Microsoft Script Task. It allows the implementation of your own script's user interface and has better script reusability. This can can be used as alternative to implementing a full blown custom SSIS control flow task. For more information please visit: http://www.cozyroc.com/products.html

Regards,
Ivan