Tag Archives: SQL

From Firefighting to Future‑Building: SQL Server 2025 and the New DataOps Mindset

There are moments in technology when the ground shifts beneath our feet. Moments when the tools we once thought of as reliable utilities suddenly become engines of transformation. SQL Server 2025 is one of those moments.

For years, data professionals have lived in a world of constant firefighting. We patched systems late at night. We tuned queries until our eyes blurred. We built pipelines that felt more like fragile bridges than sturdy highways. We worked hard, but too often we worked in the weeds.

Now, with SQL Server 2025, the weeds are being cleared. The fog is lifting. We are entering a new era where the focus is not on the mechanics of data but on the meaning of data. This is the rise of Declarative DataOps.

Declarative DataOps is not just a new feature. It is a new philosophy. It is the belief that data professionals should not be burdened with the endless details of how data moves, transforms, and scales. Instead, they should be empowered to declare what they want and trust the platform to deliver.

Think of it like this. In the past, we were bricklayers, stacking one block at a time, carefully balancing the structure. With Declarative DataOps, we become architects. We sketch the vision, and the system builds the foundation. We move from labor to leadership. From execution to imagination.

SQL Server 2025 is the canvas for this vision. It is infused with intelligence that understands intent. It is optimized for performance at a scale that once seemed impossible. It is secure by design, resilient by nature, and adaptive by default. It is not just keeping up with the future – it is pulling us into it.

But let us be clear. This is not only about technology. This is about culture. This is about how teams think, how leaders plan, and how organizations compete. Declarative DataOps is a mindset shift. It is the courage to let go of micromanagement and embrace trust. It is the discipline to focus on outcomes instead of obsessing over process.

Imagine the possibilities:

A financial institution that once spent weeks building compliance reports can now declare the outcomes it needs and deliver them in hours.
A healthcare provider that once struggled with fragmented patient data can now unify insights with clarity and speed.
A retailer that once fought to keep up with shifting demand can now anticipate it with intelligence built into the very fabric of its data platform.

This is not science fiction. This is SQL Server 2025.

And here is the challenge. The organizations that cling to the old ways will find themselves buried under the weight of complexity. They will spend their energy maintaining yesterday while others are inventing tomorrow. But those who embrace Declarative DataOps will rise. They will innovate faster. They will adapt sooner. They will lead with confidence.

So, I say to you: do not wait. Do not hesitate. Declare your vision. Declare your outcomes. Declare your future. Because the future is not waiting for you. It is already here.

The Ultimate Yates Takeaway

The future of data engineering is not about the steps you take. It is about the outcomes you declare. SQL Server 2025 is not just a database. It is a declaration of possibility. Declarative DataOps is not just a method. It is a mindset of courage, clarity, and vision.

Your mission is not to manage the machinery of yesterday. Your mission is to shape the mission of tomorrow. The leaders who thrive in this new era will not be the ones who know every detail of every process. They will be the ones who dare to declare bold outcomes and trust the platform to deliver.

So, remember this: the power of SQL Server 2025 is not what it does for you. The power is in what it frees you to do.

Cosmos DB vs Traditional SQL: When to Choose What

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From where I stand, the decision between Cosmos DB and a traditional SQL database often wants to be chosen between a sports car and a reliable sedan. Both will get you where you need to go, but the experience, trade-offs, and underlying engineering philosophies are worlds apart. In this post, I want to walk through why I lean one way in some projects and the other way in different contexts, weaving in lessons I’ve picked up along the way.

Embracing the No-SQL Mindset

Cosmos DB isn’t just a database, it’s a distributed, multi-model platform that challenges you to think differently about data. When I first started experimenting with it, I was drawn to the global distribution capabilities. The idea of replicating data across multiple Azure regions with a click, tuning consistency levels on the fly, and paying only for the throughput I consumed felt like the future knocking at my door. That said, adopting Cosmos DB forces you into a schema-on-read approach. You trade rigid structure for flexibility, and if you’re coming from decades of normalized tables and stored procedures, which can be unsettling.

The Comfort of Relational Rigor

Traditional SQL databases are, quite frankly, the comfort blanket for most application teams. There’s something deeply reassuring about defining your tables, constraints, and relationships up front. When I build a core financial or inventory system complex joins are non-negotiable, I default to a relational engine every time. I know exactly how transactions behave, how indexing strategies will play out, and how to debug a long-running query without a steep learning curve. In these scenarios, the confidence of relational rigor outweighs the allure of elastic scalability.

Scaling Horizontally vs. Vertically

Cosmos DB’s horizontal scale is its headline feature. When I needed to support spikes of tens of thousands of writes per second across geographies, traditional SQL began to buckle under stretching vertical resources. By contrast, Cosmos DB let me add partitions and distribute load with minimal fuss. But there’s another side: if your workload is more moderate and your peak traffic predictable, the overhead of partition key design and distributed consistency might not justify the gain. In practice, I’ve seen teams overengineer for scale they never hit, adding complexity instead of value.

Consistency and Developer Experience

I’ll admit I’m a stickler for transactional integrity. Having user accounts mysteriously uncoordinated or orphaned child records drives me up the wall. Traditional SQL’s transactional model makes it easy to reason about “all or nothing.” Cosmos DB, by contrast, offers a spectrum of consistency, from eventual to strong, and each step has implications for performance and cost. In projects where eventual consistency is acceptable, think analytics dashboards or session stores, I’m happy to embrace the lower latency and higher availability. But when money, medical records, or inventory counts are at stake, I usually revert to the unwavering promise of relational transactions.

Tipping the Cost Scales

Cost is rarely the shining headline in any technology evaluation, yet it becomes a deal-breaker faster than anything else. With Cosmos DB, you’re billed for provisioned throughput and storage, regardless of how evenly you use it. In a high-traffic, unpredictable environment, elasticity pays dividends. In stable workloads, though, traditional SQL, especially in cloud-managed flavors, often comes in with a simpler, more predictable pricing model. I’ve sat in budget reviews where Cosmos DB’s cost projections sent executives scrambling, only to settle back on a tried-and-true relational cluster.

Real-World Trade-Offs

I once was part of a project for a global entity that needed real-time inventory sync across ten regions. Cosmos DB’s replication and multi-master writes were a godsend. We delivered a seamless “buy online, pick up anywhere” experience that translated directly into sales. By contrast, another entity wanted a compliance-heavy reporting system with complex financial calculations. Cosmos DB could have handled the volume, but the mental overhead of mapping relational joins into a document model and ensuring strict consistency ultimately made traditional SQL the clear winner.

Ultimate Yates Takeaway – Finding Your North Star

At the end of the day, the right choice comes back to this: what problem are you solving? If your initiative demands a massive, global scale with flexible schemas and you can live with tunable consistency, Cosmos DB will give you a playground that few relational engines can match. If your application revolves around structured data, complex transactions, and familiar tooling, a traditional SQL database is the anchor you need.

I’ve found that the best teams pick the one that aligns with their domain, their tolerance for operational complexity, and their budgetary guardrails. And sometimes the most pragmatic answer is to use both, leveraging each for what it does best.

If you’re itching to dig deeper, you might explore latency benchmarks between strong and eventual consistency, prototype a hybrid architecture, or even run a proof-of-concept that pits both databases head-to-head on your real workload. After all, the fastest way to answer is often to let your own data drive the decision. What’s your next step?

Streamline Dependency Management in Databases

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In the intricate world of business, where precision and efficiency are paramount, managing database dependencies can often feel like navigating a labyrinth. Imagine having a tool that not only simplifies this process but also uncovers hidden efficiencies, ensuring your institution remains agile and error-free. Enter Redgate’s SQL Search – a game-changer for database administrators striving to maintain robust and responsive systems. Discover how this powerful tool can revolutionize your approach to database management and propel your institution toward unparalleled operational excellence.

Understanding SQL Search

Redgate’s SQL Search is a free tool that integrates seamlessly with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and Visual Studio. It allows us to search for SQL code across multiple databases and object types, including tables, views, stored procedures, functions, and jobs. The tool is designed to help database administrators and developers find fragments of SQL code quickly, navigate objects, and identify dependencies with ease.

Use Case: Finding Dependencies Within Tables

One of the most valuable features of SQL Search is its ability to find dependencies within tables. Dependence can include references to columns, foreign keys, triggers, and other database objects. Identifying these dependencies is essential for tasks such as schema changes, performance optimization, and impact analysis.

Scenario: An institution needs to update a column name on a critical table but is unsure of all the stored procedures, views, and functions that reference this column.

Solution: Using SQL Search, we can perform a comprehensive search to identify all dependencies related to the column. Here is how:

Install SQL Search: Ensure SQL Search is installed and integrated with SSMS or Visual Studio.
Search for Dependencies: Open SQL Search and enter the column name in the search bar. SQL Search will return a list of all objects that reference the column, including stored procedures, views, functions, and triggers.
Analyze Results: Review the search results to understand the scope of dependencies. This helps in assessing the impact of the column name change and planning the necessary updates.
Update References: Make the required changes to the column name and update all dependent objects accordingly. SQL Search ensures that no dependencies are overlooked, reducing the risk of errors and downtime.

Benefits for Enterprise Institutions

Implementing SQL Search offers several benefits:

Efficiency: SQL Search significantly reduces the time required to find and manage dependencies, allowing us to focus on more strategic tasks.
Accuracy: By providing a comprehensive view of dependencies, SQL Search helps prevent errors that could arise from overlooked references.
Impact Analysis: The tool enables thorough impact analysis before making schema changes, ensuring that all affected objects are identified and updated.
Performance Optimization: Identifying and managing dependencies can lead to better database performance, as redundant or inefficient references can be optimized.

Redgate’s SQL Search is an invaluable tool for teams looking to enhance their database management practices. By leveraging its powerful search capabilities, we can efficiently find and manage dependencies within tables, ensuring accuracy and optimizing performance. Whether it is for routine maintenance or major schema changes, SQL Search provides the insights needed to make informed decisions and maintain a robust database system.

Implementing SQL Search can transform the way one manages database management, leading to improved operational efficiency and reduced risk of errors. Consider integrating this tool into your workflow to experience its benefits firsthand.

Taming Database Challenges: Insights from Redgate Keynote

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I am excited to cover the Microsoft Keynote on Day 2: Redgate Keynote: Simplifying Complexity – Making the Database Work in the Real World. As the database landscape grows increasingly complex and the pace of change accelerates, robust database practices are essential to manage this complexity effectively. However, fully leveraging the value of databases remains a significant challenge.

In this keynote, Redgate will present real-life stories, insights, and solutions, highlighting both the human and technical challenges associated with databases. We will be joined by a respected industry expert from IDC Europe and a fellow IT leader who is at the forefront of addressing these challenges. This session will feature the latest research, best practice advice, personal anecdotes, and demonstrations of new product offerings designed to help you harness the benefits of mature database practices and unlock the full potential of your data estate.

Updates to follow:

98 sessions, 50 clinic meetings, and a massive amount of networking events.

Day 2 will bring forth more sessions, expo expedition, community zone, community experts clinic and over 70 more sessions starting today.

Women in Technology Luncheon featuring Jes Chapman as the Keynote speaker will be in Ballrooms 2 and 3 over lunch.

Kellyn Gorman takes the stage providing some stats such as 21 % of organizations are using synthetic data for testing.

71% of organizations in the survey were using manual methods to create testing data, which is incredibly time-consuming.

Graham McMillan, CTO at Redgate, talks about all things releases and how the complexity is.

Digital Technology spend will expand seven times faster than the global economy in 2024

Speed (46%), Quality (43%), Efficiency (43%), and Productivity (28%) to help deliver excellence by 4 strategic priorities.

Excessive technical debt forces overspending on infrastructure

Average hours for DBAs to deploy databases is a thing

Time spent on new app functionality is part of slowing business.

Infrastructure environments are changing, bringing forth some additional challenges in today’s world which lends issues to Operational and Governance challenges. Security and Control, Cost Control, Cloud Sprawl, Visibility, Skills…..

Best practices to help get out of a messy middle, but Sharing the Pain: Core challenges for DevOps and DBAs (Operational challenges, evolving DevOps and business pressures, Heterogeneity, and Data Governance).

Six Core Data Desires – Data Mobility, Data Integrity and Quality, Data Availability, Cyber and Ransomware Resilience, Data Integration, Secure Data Access from anywhere.

One of the big discussion points is breaking down silos, automation, and making things go.

Building automation on deployments and supplying blueprints for specific configurations that will help provision Infrastructure Provisioning including databases, application servers, cloud services, and web or file services……brings forth ease of use, independence, efficiency, compliant by design, and securely by design. – APG

“Increased automation does not sidestep controls”

Data needs to become part of the deployment process where applicable

Be efficient, be innovative, and be secure.

74% of IT teams are now using more than one data platform.

25% are using more than four data platforms.

18% are making daily changes

50% increase in changes at short notice between 2022-24

84% who utilize AI say it delivers improved productivity to reduce time spent on DB deployments, Amplify the signal in the noise, and accelerate time-to-market

68% don’t collaborate between developers and operations. Bridging the gap between development and database operations.

How Redgate’s Test Data Manager Can Enhance Automated Testing

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A brief overview of the benefits and challenges of automated testing and how Redgate’s Test Data Manager can help.

Automated testing uses software tools to execute predefined tests on a software application, system, or platform. Automated testing can help developers and testers verify their products’ functionality, performance, security, and usability and identify and fix bugs faster and more efficiently. Automated testing can reduce manual testing costs and time, improve software quality and reliability, and enable continuous integration and delivery.

However, automated testing is not a silver bullet that can solve all software development problems. Automated testing also has some limitations and challenges, such as:

It requires a significant upfront investment in developing, maintaining, and updating the test scripts and tools.
It cannot replace human judgment and creativity in finding and exploring complex or unexpected scenarios.
It may not cover all the possible test and edge cases, especially for dynamic and interactive applications.
It may generate false positives or negatives, depending on the quality and accuracy of the test scripts and tools.

One of the critical challenges of automated testing is to ensure that the test data used for the test scripts are realistic, relevant, and reliable. Test data are the inputs and outputs of the test scripts, and they can significantly impact the outcome and validity of the test results. Test data can be sourced from various sources, such as production, synthetic, or test data generators. However, each source has advantages and disadvantages, and none can guarantee the optimal quality and quantity of test data for every test scenario.

That’s why Redgate Test Data Manager from Redgate is a valuable tool for automated testing. Test Data Manager is a software solution that helps developers and testers create, manage, and provision test data for automated testing. Test Data Manager can help to:

Create realistic and relevant test data based on the application’s data model and business rules.
Manage and update test data across different environments and platforms.
Provision test data on demand, in the proper format and size, for the test scripts.
Protect sensitive and confidential data by masking or anonymizing them.
Optimize test data usage and storage by deleting or archiving obsolete or redundant data.

By using TDM, developers and testers can enhance the quality and efficiency of automated testing, as well as the security and compliance of test data. TDM can help reduce the risk of test failures, errors, and delays and increase confidence and trust in the test results. TDM can also help save time and money by reducing the dependency on manual processes and interventions and maximizing the reuse and value of test data.

Automated testing is an essential and beneficial practice for software development, but it has some challenges and limitations. Test data management is one of the critical factors that can influence the success and effectiveness of automated testing. Using a tool like TDM from Redgate, developers and testers can create, manage, and provision test data for automated testing more efficiently, reliably, and securely.

Four PASS Questions–My Take #PASSElections

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As part of the campaign material for this years election for Board of Directors; the candidates were asked to answer four questions. While I did put together a short two-minute video for PASS that will be published soon on the election site regarding these questions; I felt it prudent to also do a bit more justice to the questions.

What is PASS to you?

In simple terms PASS to me is the people that embody PASS in general. We are fortunate and blessed to have some great events worldwide at our disposal. To name a few events offhand:

All of the above are great avenues to learn, and we are fortunate to have them. If it wasn’t for some of these above I can honestly say I probably wouldn’t be here before you today on a slate to run for the PASS Board of Directors. However, with all that said, in my heart what makes PASS is the people (our community).

PASS is the one-off conversations that you see members having at the PASS Summit.
PASS is seeing a member helping another member with an issue or a problem.
PASS is the countless volunteers that devote their time to help others to connect, share, and learn.
PASS is speakers who devote their time and knowledge to helping others learn.
PASS is providing data professionals the ability to get ahead of the curve by keeping them out front of today’s technology.
PASS is when someone in the community is struggling and someone stops and offers them encouragement offline.
PASS is having healthy debates.
PASS is not just an event.
PASS is in everyday life; it doesn’t have to be regulated to confined events. It has no boundaries or walls.

We, as a community, have grown and made great strides over the years. There is still, and always will be, room for improvements. We cannot become stagnant nor can we be afraid of change when it merits it. I’m a byproduct of PASS and what PASS can do for you.

What one change would you like to see in PASS for the 2 years you serve, if any?

I think with any organization you have to keep improving on key aspects. For me, personally, I would like to see the following occur:

Continue to build on transparency with the community. Being more of a “grass-roots” data professional I would love and welcome to see additional collaboration efforts with community members.
Continue to build on PASS being a global entity. We cannot just view PASS as a US entity, but rather a global entity that is impacting data professionals from all over the world. I’m amazed thus far at the progress made in this area; still, with so much progress we still have so much more work to do.
Look at leadership paths for community members and also for existing Board of Directors. We should all continue to grow in this area regardless of where we are at in our careers.

What are your goals as a Board member

This is a great question and one that is not taken lightly. My stance on this question is simply to go in each and every day; put on the PASS uniform jersey, and make an impact in some form or fashion. Whether this is making some tough decisions or reaching out to bridge some gaps. I would love to continue the excellence in what I believe PASS to be; listen if I didn’t believe in PASS and what it stood for I wouldn’t be devoting the time these past six years. I’ve seen it at work first hand; I believe in it, and I also believe that with anything we can make it better for future PASS members.

In my original post found here regarding running for the board of directors I stated I would not make promises and that holds true. All I can say is that I will give it all I got every day. Will I make mistakes, yes. What I can guarantee is that the drive and passion are real along with a work ethic that wants to see success for PASS for many years to come.

How can the community stay current with the ever-evolving world of data?

I think the foundation has had a good starting point with the BI and BA tracts coming into play. We have to continue to hone in with the changing times from all angles of the life cycle. We need to continue to partner and collaborate with one another from Dev, DBA, BI, BA, Data Scientists, Data Professionals in general and provide mechanisms that help drive thought leaders within their respective industries.

We need to continue to provide the tools within the infrastructure side of PASS that enable cross-collaboration across local events – what worked for you vs. what didn’t work.

I’m excited about what the future holds and where data and solutions will lead us.

Summary

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read this post. Leadership is something that I don’t take lightly. One of the sayings I’ve kept close to me is from John Wooden, “The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example.” I think it’s imperative that we, as leaders, in the community view leadership as not creating followers, instead we should be creating more leaders.

I will have the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of the community and fellow board members. We should be able to demonstrate what is possible and continue to build future leaders within our community.

Again, it’s an honor to share the time with all of the candidates whom I respect. Whether you vote for me or not I do encourage you to go vote when balloting goes live on September 20th. It’s our community; let’s shape it together.

Hold The Fort

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stress Have you ever heard the phrase “Hold The Fort”? Long ago in battle supply routes were targeted by enemy regiments that would cut off rations to fighting units. As the battle ensued the enemy had driven back their counterparts to a small area on a hill. They were being overwhelmed with many wounded and dying; that is until in the distance they noticed reinforcements were on the way.

How many times have you, as a data professional, been stuck wondering the same thing? Battered, worn down, and flat-out exhausted until you look and see reinforcements on the horizon. Sure, we’ve all been there, but to some it is a question of how do I call in re-enforcement’s or how do I even go about sending out a help signal? Below are some various ways you can tackle problems:

Forums

There are several forums out there that can provide some great insights into similar issues that you may be experiencing. To a certain extent I think forums are a great avenue to explore potential solutions. With that said however you cannot take every answer verbatim. There can be some off the wall answers out there that shouldn’t be followed. It is important to test anything you find on the web regardless of who it comes from.

You can find some of the forums I frequently attend here.

#sqlhelp

One thing that I’ve learned about the community is the willingness to help each other out. Remember above when I stated “Hold the fort, and reinforcements are on the way”; this is a good twitter hashtag to be familiar with. Professionals from all over the world take this seriously and it is not to be mistreated on how it is utilized. I have received great assistance in the past on issues I’ve been stuck with.

Phone a friend

We all have our “go to group” we bounce ideas off of. Sometimes it is helpful to bounce ideas off of another data professional. You may surprise yourself and actually start talking through your problem and come to an answer you may not have arrived to had you not initiated the conversation.

Old Fashion Testing

As a data professional you cannot be afraid to get your hands dirty. Prove your theories and test the scenarios as you run across them. One should be doing this anyway, but in doing so a wealth of knowledge gained is at your fingertips. We stop learning when we stop trying; just because you encounter one failure doesn’t mean you stop. You keep fighting and beating down that door until you make it through the other side. How bad do you want it?

Is It A Vendor Product?

I have the opportunity to work with a plethora of vendors. Maybe your issue revolves around a vendor product and you are not able to make any changes. Great, this happens all the time to data professionals. Some questions I’ll throw out there are:

Have you opened a dialogue with the vendor about the issue?
Have you documented the issue; not just call and say I have a problem?
Have you tried to reproduce the error?
It it already a known bug?
Is it something that we can address internally before we talk with the vendor?

I’ve worked with a couple great vendors in Red Gate and SentryOne over the years. As a data professional I’ve seen vendors (not all) take pride in a quick response time. If there is an issue with a product they will want to take care of it in a swift manner or provide feedback as to why, when, and what to expect.

Internal Resources

I’m going to say this here, and it may shock some of you. No one knows everything; there may be some who elude or perpetuate appearances that they know everything there is to know, but that is not the case. Whether you are in a shop or maybe a consultant (who can tap into their contact base) there are internal methods to maybe approach a different business unit or tech unit on an issue to get an outside perspective. Sometimes a fresh set of eyes goes a long way.

Technical Blogs

There are many great technical blogs out there; I have listed some in my DBA Blogs section to the right of this page. Each person is different and has their own go to Blog for review. I receive questions all the time from readers and other data professionals; being respectful is key but I have not seen one data professional out there who would not extend a helping hand if presented in a respectful manner. DO NOT TAKE this as one will provide an answer. We may show you how to connect the dots, but it is important one takes the necessary steps to get to the answer on their own. Nothing is given….work hard for it.

User Groups

Maybe your issue is not a hot ticket item and it can wait to a user group meeting. These are great places to bring up questions and issues in a local environment with some pretty stellar professionals. I guarantee that if you ask a question and no one knows the answer then someone will do their best to find out that answer and further the discussion. An example of a user group can be found here.

PASS Summit

Perhaps your issue is ongoing and you are at the PASS Summit. Great, besides being at a conference with over 6k of our closest friends I would take advantage of the SQLCat and AzureCat Team’s hours. It is a great way to tell Microsoft of your issues and get advice from some of the top-tier people in our industry.

Conclusion

I don’t know what your situation is or will be. Obstacles will come from all angles this year; it is up to us on how we deal with them. I would be amiss if I sat here and didn’t tell you that it won’t always be easy. Nothing in life is easy; some days you will have to work and grind your way through until you get to an answer for an issue. In the end though, when you do find that answer (and you will) you will be able to learn from it and move on. It is part of a data professionals journey.

Keep fighting and keep working toward your end goals. Never stop learning; never stop gaining knowledge.

Blink – Year is gone

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As the door begins to knock I start to wonder who it can be. As I begin to open it the person on the other side asks if he can talk to Perfection. No, I replied, perfection isn’t here and will never be here.

That same concept is what this blog I started 4 years ago is all about. No, you will not find perfection. What you will find is a data professional who loves working with SQL server and views his everyday job as not really a job at all. I’ve learned over the years that I’m probably in that rare club who enjoys his job and what all he has to work with.

I work with a fantastic SQL Community and have met several interesting folks along the way. I enjoy talking and working alongside the vendors where I can, and offer feedback when asked. The many questions and collaborations that have been had this year from user groups, talks, sessions, presentations, conferences have been phenomenal and I am humbled by the response given to the SQL Professor.

While you won’t find perfection you will find a guy who will share with you some of the knocks, bumps and bruises; along with solutions to what he has faced along his SQL journey in hopes that it will benefit you and others.

You will find a data professional who will be continual learning so that he can share the solution with someone in need

…..and you will find a data professional who will help anywhere he can in hopes of growing the thing he has enjoyed so much being a part of ~ The SQL Community.

As we move into 2015 I am thankful for the people who have taught me that quality of my content is important and I will take that into 2015 and do my best to enhance The SQL Professor to new boundaries. This year has been a roller coaster of a ride, one that I am both humbled and thankful for. As the year draws nigh and me having some vacation days to take I decided to venture back over some of the past posts. These past few weeks, ever since getting back from PASS Summit, have been nothing short of hustling and bustling to and fro. I am thankful that the SQL Professor site has had a reach into many countries this year a nice increase from last year and the representation is noted below:

United StatesUnited Kingdom

India Australia

Canada Netherlands

Germany France

South Africa Brazil

Belgium Norway

Italy Sweden

Nepal Ireland

Russian Federation Switzerland

Poland New Zealand

Spain Taiwan

Portugal Mexico

Denmark Serbia

Singapore Colombia

Viet Nam Philippines

Israel Turkey

Chile Hong Kong

Argentina Finland

Puerto RicoCzech Republic

Costa Rica Malaysia

Austria Japan

Ukraine Egypt

United Arab EmiratesCroatia

Pakistan Slovenia

Republic of Korea Romania

Indonesia Thailand

Algeria Peru

Dominican Republic Bulgaria

Greece Bermuda

MontenegroChina

Macedonia, the Former Yugoslav Republic

Slovakia Guatemala

Saudi ArabiaNicaragua

Venezuela Armenia

Lithuania Morocco

Paraguay Belarus

LuxembourgAzerbaijan

Latvia Hungary

Tunisia Côte d’Ivoire

Bangladesh Ecuador

Oman Kazakhstan

Iraq Uruguay

Iceland Sri Lanka

Bolivia Nigeria

Albania Macao

Jordan Estonia

Libya Uganda

Papua New Guinea

Cyprus Kenya

Djibouti Cayman Islands

El SalvadorCambodia

Georgia

Solid increases have been gained since inception and I believe that is because of the content and the focus that has been put forth on it this past year. Thank you for a great year and I look forward to the journey of continual learning and sharing moving forward.

Enjoy the holidays and short work week; look forward to seeing you all again in 2015.

SQL Prompt What Is It Good For Absolutely…

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Everything. If you’ve never had the opportunity to use Red Gates SQL prompt utility then you are missing out. Recently, I went without it for a day by some circumstances that I decided to create for myself. Of course these actions were not intentional but then it got me thinking somewhat on if I was stranded on a desert SQL island what would be the one utility I would want most in my survivor tool belt.

I posed this question over at SQL Brit’s Forum (if you haven’t been over there yet check it out; there is some good stuff going on over there) and got some really good responses back.

Back to the subject at hand, SQL Prompt, and why do I like it so much. I am a heavy Red Gate user; have their bundle and enjoy using all their utilities. Makes my job a lot easier; one of these is SQL Prompt.

What Is SQL Prompt?

SQL Prompt is an add-in for SSMS and Visual Studio, and according to Red Gate, has been designed to strip away the repetition of coding.

Features

There are many features about SQL Prompt but I won’t cover all of them. I want to focus on just a few that have helped me tremendously fight the good DBA fight.

Summarize Script Option – as you can see below the script that is in the query window for my test database called release I have 3 insert statements. If I had a very huge query I was working with, or perhaps even going through highlights of an SP I can get a quick summary of what I’m dealing with:

If you click on one of the Insert Scripts you will see that it is highlighted in your query window for quick review:

Just how do you get to this Summarize Script Option? If you look at your toolbar inside SSMS you will see the SQLPrompt option available. From there it is as simple as selecting the summarize script feature:

Snippets – these are nice hot keys to allow you to get to code quicker. You can save your own snippets for frequently used code. For example some of the snippets that are quick to learn are

SSF which is select * from
DF which is delete from
CT which is create table
II which is insert into

The list and possibilities could go on but the mere fact of having this at my finger tips has cut down on a lot of coding and “repetition” that occurs on a daily basis.

Conclusion

What I’ve shared are just two features that SQL Prompt has to offer and we haven’t even begun to scratch the service. The more I think on it the more I believe I will be doing an in depth over view of my bundle. I believe I have features that I am not taking full advantage of that are at my disposal.

Just this utility alone has formatting short cuts, navigation short cuts (Summarize Script is Ctrl+B, Ctrl+S), Code-completion Shortcuts, Refactoring, and much more.

Check out SQLPrompt for more information at RedGates website.

What’s your go to utility? If you were stranded on a SQL Desert island what would you want to have with you that you could not survive without?

Fab Five – The SQL

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The History

The original Fab Five dates back to 1991 when five high school kids found their way to the University of Michigan to play college basketball. These guys were the best of the best coming out of high school; four of them were ranked in the top ten while the fifth was ranked in the top one hundred. At that present time getting four guys ranked that high to come to your college was unprecedented in college basketball. They went on to transcend college basketball both in persona and in style.

The Positions

Each of the five guys that made up the Fab Five had their own specific positions they played. For those of you who don’t follow basketball I’ll lay it out for you here real fast:

Point Guard – this position is often viewed as the play maker; they run the team’s offense and ensure people get to where they need to go. One main aspect of a point guard is to understand the coaches game plan and implement that plan. Best way I can think of this position is being a coach on the floor.
Shooting Guard – this position scores points, is athletic, and is reliable in close games. They are often times the teams primary scoring option.
Small Forward – this position is often considered to be one of the most versatile positions on the court; this position can score and they can get to the foul line at will and is one of the key components to any team.
Power Forward – this position wears many responsibilities including rebounding; they typically have a good mid-range jump shot; they don’t mind to get in the mix with the opposing team and do a lot of the grunt work.
Center – this position normally goes to the tallest player and has a great deal of strength. When you find a center who is athletic and tall they are an unparalleled asset to any team. Again this position does a lot of grunt work and gets the job done.

Present Day

The term “Fab Five” has stuck with me throughout my life. I have categorized many things on various levels of what my Fab Five are. My SQL journey also falls into this category. Many times throughout the year I get asked who or what has helped me along my data professional/DBA journey and who has made an impact on me throughout my career. With that said I have categorized who my Fab Five are.

Fab Five – The SQL

Now that we have arrived here to what this blog post is about I have had my own Fab Five from a SQL standpoint that have helped me in my career to date. Please keep in mind that others have helped along the way; these guys have just made a pretty huge impact on me and since I am asked frequently about this topic I thought I’d share them.

Point Guard/Chris Shaw (B|T) – it was 2011 and I attended my first PASS Summit (for those of you who have never attended this conference I suggest you attend). I was able to sit in on a session that Chris presented on, utility databases, and was able to relate and resonate with his ideas to incorporate them into some of my daily activities. Up to this point I hadn’t been really involved in the SQL Community although I had been around SQL for years. I ran into Chris outside the conference while sessions were on break and he was about the most down to earth guy I had met at the conference; here this guy is an MVP like others who were there and he is having just as much fun as the rest of us were. Long story short, after the PASS Summit I started to reflect more on what I had learned and since I had never ventured out much into the community I reached out to Chris to see if he would guide me on some things which he did so without hesitation. Over the course of the past 2 years Chris has been an integral part of my DBA growth to which I’m also proud to call him my friend. I had to have this guy as my point guard as he’s the general and has orchestrated a lot of my ongoing efforts to further my career.
Shooting Guard/Brent Ozar (B|T) – playing ball all my life I wanted to surround myself with good players. I always wanted to play up at a higher level; I figured if I wanted to be the best I needed to beat the best and play with the best. That was my basketball mentality and part of the competitiveness to a certain extent has carried over into my career. I sat back and jotted down who I thought to be in my own views key players in the SQL industry and Brent was one I jotted down. I wanted to learn all the techniques I could from him and his crew and after the PASS Summit 2011 I started really diving into what Brent and his group had to offer. I started off with his weekly Tuesday morning/early afternoon video sessions. These were quick hits where I could eat my lunch at my desk and learn some new and cool things I didn’t really get to dive into in the past. Along with the videos I have become accustomed to the sp_Blitz and sp_BlitzIndex which his group (Jes, Kendra, Jeremiah, and Doug) provides. One thing I like about Brent’s group is they are just flat out real; what you see is what you get. If you haven’t been on a Tuesday video session check it out – they are just real people like you and I having a good time and teaching some really cool SQL stuff to data professionals like me along the way. Brent gets my shooting guard position because as a shooting guard he can score in buckets and in a variety of ways. Always provides a plethora of information that is both helpful and precise. A lot of my current techniques are attributed to him.
Small Forward / John Sansom (B|T) – I actually was reviewing a great post by John on Automation and found my way onto his Forum. I had been looking to get involved in different ways with the community and have posted some on various boards when I stumbled upon his forum I liked the idea he was presenting. As a few days passed I kept coming back and finally decided to dive in head first. Am I glad I did, in a short period of time John has flat out boosted my drive to do what I can in helping the community. Like Chris Shaw, John has been an instrumental influence on my day to day activities as a DBA/data professional and has encouraged me to not only look for the solution but also think outside the box. He gets my small forward position because again of the versatility, dependability, and flat out getting after it day in and day out. I would put John up against anyone in the community and his integrity to his craft speaks volumes.
Power Forward / Steve Jones (B|T) – If you have dove into the community at all then you know about SQL Server Central or possibly Red Gate. I am blessed enough to work with the Red Gate SQL tool belt daily; because of that I got to know Steve’s work and the Voice of the DBA podcasts/posts he conducts on a daily basis. You want to see a work ethic then look at Steve. Seeing guys like this drives and inspires me more to take what I can do to the next level. One thing I’ve noticed Steve do is always trying something new for example this month is his Power Shell month. Steve gets my power forward position because he always provides me with consistency. One thing he has taught me is don’t be afraid to try something new while testing your theories. My training schedule was waking up at 3 a.m. to run sprints in the street then go shoot 500 jumpers before class followed by practice in the afternoon. Steve epitomizes that work ethic in the SQL community, the daily topics from the Voice of the DBA pertain to real everyday issues that everyone can relate to. Seeing a professional like this just go about his job and continuously knock out speaking event after speaking event, post after post, engagement after engagement is just flat out admirable. Again like all the Fab Five this one has taught me hard work pays off and get in and learn your skill set.
Center / John Sterrett (B |T) – PASS Summit 2011 was a really good conference I reckon because I came to know John from the same conference, he did a session on PBM/CMS that rocked. At the time it was something we were going to implement in the shop I’m at and seeing it up front in person was perfect. After getting back from the conference I noticed that John put out on his blog that he was taking people under his wing and to let him know if anyone was interested. I reached out and sure enough John has helped me along my journey ever since, just like my previous four have. If you look at what a center does they just flat out get after it. Defense, offense, rebound, gets fouled non-stop but keeps getting up and hustling. John has shown me that hard work does in fact pay off. From his blog posts all the way through his presentations the information he provides is spot on.

To my Fab Five I thank you, in today’s world this is not said enough. The time that you guys put in day in and day out does make a difference. So when you think you’re doing things in vain it is because of these efforts that it has helped me where I am at.

Crunch Time (4th quarter / Second Half)

When you are down to the last two minutes and the game is on the line what will you fall back on? For me the obvious answer is my training. I was told something one time by a friend of mine, “Somewhere, somebody is practicing getting better while you are not. What will it take?” For me, being a DBA is not just a job; for me it is a career that I thoroughly enjoy. My outlook I had in basketball is the same outlook I have today in my work ethic, I want to continue to practice, work hard, get better, hone my skill set. These guys have afforded me multiple resources to learn from.

I have my own saying that, it only takes one. It took one at Pass Summit 2011 (Chris Shaw) to get me involved in the community and have a strong footprint in how I conduct my DBA duties, it took one in Brent Ozar that decided you know what, I want to help my community and offer videos that others may learn what I already know and provide helpful tools that sets a standard in the industry, it took one in John Sansom to start a Forum that bridged the States to London for a guy who was looking for some identity in how to help others, it took one in Steve Jones who takes time out of his schedule to answer some emails that I send or spends countless hours being the Voice of the DBA which provides insight into the SQL technology, and it takes one in John Sterrett who always answers my attempts to further my knowledge and learn from him, and who introduced PBM\CMS to me.

Conclusion

I said all that to say this, the re-occurring theme is it “takes one”; these guys did it and I hope one day I’m that one to someone else. You see the community is full of men and woman like my Fab Five ~ who is your Fab Five and will you be that one?

Get involved, bring something to the table, and as the renowned Thomas Larock (B|T) says ~ make today your someday!

I’ll leave you with this one encouragement that I’ve shared here before and on other Forums:

Believe while others doubt

Plan while others are playing

Study while others are sleeping

Decide while others are delaying

Prepare while others are daydreaming

Begin while others are procrastinating

Work while others are wishing

Save while others are wasting

Listen while others are talking

Smile while others are frowning

Commend while others are criticizing

Persist while others are quitting

"You are the CEO of your destiny"

Rise and Grind

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Fab Five – The SQL

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