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RE: Why SQL Server?

quackhandle1975 — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:26:40 GMT

I first started with SQL 7, then quickly 2000 as a classic ASP developer. Made a deliberate decision to become a DBA (since I had studied normalization at university) as I wasn't interested in going down the .NET route.Never regretted it for one minute, however I may have cursed using SQL 2K on many occasions. ;-)[b][i]qh[/i][/b]

RE: Why SQL Server?

David Conn — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 20:06:53 GMT

I began with SQL server 4.2, I was working for a small Services Company trying to establish themselves. My Boss was convinced by Microsoft that we should become a Microsoft Dealer and that one of the requirements was to have at least 2 MCSEs. I was fast-tracked into becoming an MCSE in 3 weeks and one of my electives was SQL Server.My main area of employment was the IBM AS/400 with its integrated database. This is now called the IBM Power System and the database is called DB2 on i.During this time I had various SQL Server installations to maintain. I actually used 6., 6.5 , 7, 2000.My current company decided on a Data Warehouse which was implemented on 2000 with DTS. We also hired a real DBA.Myself and the DBA converted the DTS to SSIS 2005 which was magic at the time. After he left I inherited the DBA Role.I took the Data warehouse to 2008 then to 2008 R2 where it is now on a Box with lots of Memory, Cores & Disk.I find SQL Server is now almost as robust as the IBM Power System which is a big call. The 2008 R2 has had only one outage and that was caused my a massive hardware failure ( IBM ).I find the current SQL Server a joy to work with. My only real beef would be the question of why can't it handle Cursors properly. DB2 doesn't have any of this RBAR nonsense.David

RE: Why SQL Server?

Jennifer Levy — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:00:35 GMT

I certainly fell into database development work. I avoided the one database course they offered at school because I couldn't stand the professor. My first job was in an Informix shop so I did a combination of front-end development and back end database work. I got my intro to databases there, eventually became an accidental DBA in that world, and that got me into my current company. This shop was, at the time, mostly SQL Server and beginning to work with Informix, so I had to get up to speed on SQL Server pretty quickly. Then the project that was Informix-based got discontinued but they kept me around since I'd become one of the senior SQL Server people on the team by that point.I've got to say that what [b]keeps[/b] me in SQL Server is a combination of the community and the large number of things that you can [b]do[/b] with SQL Server. I've never worked in anything where people have gotten so excited about what they're doing, and are so welcoming to people who want to learn about it. And if I'm not interested in spending all of my time as a DBA, there's data integration, there's reporting, there are [b]so many[/b] other things that you can focus on and you will [b]never[/b] learn it all, and the thought of [b]always[/b] having something new to sink my teeth into makes me extremely happy.

RE: Why SQL Server?

Evil Kraig F — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:32:30 GMT

I'm a semi-odd case. I work in SQL Server because it offers me the highest pay of my available skillsets. Rather mercenary but really as long as my work is good noone should care about my reasonings, at least professionally.I got into SQL Server via a back alley. Like everyone else I just needed a job at one point and ended up doing over the phone help desk support for applications, including VBA for Office. Started at just above minimum wage and I excelled at it, having done programming as a kid, working on PCs since I was young, and knowing things like Dataease from wayback due to my family's background in accounting and programming.Eventually I got involved in their top tier support doing MS Access support and was being trained in SQL Server when I just burnt out due to professional and personal reasons reaching a crux in my life. So I moved. I met a mentor who hired me for MS Access work and threw me in the deep end of SQL Server and then helped me to learn that I actually had no damned clue what I was doing... then showed me how to teach myself in SQL Server.My skillsets run the gamut. I've been a house painter, a framer, a stock broker, a trucker, a shop manager, office manager for land appraisals... you get the drift. SQL Server offers me the best pay for my brain. My body's degrading but my brain isn't, so this is where I'm staying.Besides, who wants to work on a system where every time you boot up the software you start expecting the sheriff to deliver your database a candygram?

RE: Why SQL Server?

calvo — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 11:23:02 GMT

It's interesting to see there are a couple common themes.1. Pushed/Fell into DBA work ("it's broke.... NOT IT!!!")2. Transitioned into it ("Programming lead me to be a DBA")One I haven't heard yet is "Its what I've always wanted to do". My story goes like this.Back in the year 2000 during my first year of college, I was impressed by Excel in Intro to Personal Computers. For my second year I took Introduction to Databases Using Oracle which peaked my interest. I had fun writing scripts and returning data sets and printing results. I really took to it and knew this was something I would like to do. After that semester I had a couple non-IT jobs but all the while had database work in the back of my mind. In 2006 I had the opportunity to get my foot in the door with a small development shop and told them my goal was to work with databases. They used SQL Server in 90% of their development and I stuck with it ever since.So why SQL Server? Because it was my destiny!

RE: Why SQL Server?

LadyRuna — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 09:57:58 GMT

I wound up going to SQL Server by "upgrading" from MS Access. After our MS Access application grew beyond a certain size (I forgot what that size was, but it was MS Access '95), people at my company noticed that its performance was seriously degrading. So, I was tasked with finding something that we could upgrade it to...I found that MSSQL server 6.0 would be fairly easy to migrate the Access tables into, and that the Access front-end would play well with it (which meant I wouldn't have to re-write the application). So we upgraded. I then moved on to becoming a SQL Server DBA and (now) a developer because I was having so much fun "playing" with SQL. :cool: MSSQL server has certainly "grown up" over the years.

RE: Why SQL Server?

jfogel — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:29:47 GMT

The Oracle tools became crap when 8i was introduced and Java came in to play. It is my opinion that this is a major reason the command line is the favored tool of the Oracle DBA as it is the only thing that works like it is supposed to and is fast. All the Windows based tools are iffy. If you ask me.

RE: Why SQL Server?

KGERBR — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:19:09 GMT

I first started using FoxPro then moved to SQL Server 7 soon afterwards. I'll never forget opening up SQL Server in the morning and getting the message "SQL Server is not on, would you like to start it?" and always freaking out "why is it never on!!" ... eventually realizing it was my connection to the server that wasn't "on" :-P (Something like that.)After that I did almost 10 years of ColdFusion to SQL Server work and loved every minute of it. It was fun to work with both sides of the brain. Eventually we became a .Net shop and I had become bored with programming the same things over and over again. So I asked if I could join the new DBA team that had just formed. I got some admin training and haven't looked back since. I tried working with Oracle but it just never took. The Oracle tools that come with it seem like there were developed by Larry Ellison's 14 year old kid as a summer project, instead of giving him/her an allowance. I've also found the SQL Server community much, much better. The learning resources at your finger tips are simply unmatched. I've done lots of SQL Server webinars and have learned so much from them ... compared to the Oracle webinars that are always sales pitches for obscure new products.

RE: Why SQL Server?

Ross McMicken — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:42:19 GMT

I fell into SQL Server when I started a new job in 2001 supporting a new version of an accounting package I had supported elsewhere. From day 1, everything clicked. The tools are good, T-SQL works well, and the documentation is easy to use and complete. What more could you want?

RE: Why SQL Server?

Dave Schutz — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:38:14 GMT

I started with SQL Server as we use MS Dynamics which is SQL based. Also have created several apps that use SQL Server as the backend.

RE: Why SQL Server?

rustman — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:54:59 GMT

Like many others, I was tasked with supporting an application that ran on SQL server. At the time it was SQL Server Ver 6.5. The product was called Report Manager and it managed our reports that were streamed from the mainframe. Not many issues but ever so often a transaction got stuck open and then the transaction log would not truncate. Once I got into troubleshooting the database issues, I was hooked on product. Started building support applications on the tables in the Report Manager database and haven't looked back. It just seems that what ever data problem I face, with just the tools provided, I can attack and find a solution.

RE: Why SQL Server?

Doctor Who 2 — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:34:07 GMT

[quote][b]Jeff Moden (3/1/2013)[/b][hr]Heh... my goodness. Why would anyone consider being "stuck" in SQL Server being "stuck"? I actually gave up the front-end world (11 years ago) to work almost exclusively in SQL Server and haven't regretted that decision for even a split second.[/quote]I agree with you, Jeff. I don't see being "stuck" with SQL Server a bad thing at all. I love how easy it is to work with. That's especially important to me because I have to work in both the back-end world and the front-end world. If it isn't easy to use, then I just can't use it because I just don't have the time.

RE: Why SQL Server?

Doctor Who 2 — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:32:03 GMT

This is a fun topic, Steve, for a Friday poll. I got started working with SQL Server for much the same reasons you gave. I came to the position and agency where I currently work years ago. When I started we started a new application for tracking clients, and used Microsoft Access as the database. We put a .MDB onto a network share and started writing old VB4 code (yes, VB4) against it. It seemed to work well, for a while, but we soon ran into difficulties, because MS Access couldn't handle the number of users we were hitting it with. My supervisor at the time had experience with Oracle, and it was bad experience. He made the decision to go with SQL Server (I think it was SQL 6.5 back then, I can't remember). We've been with SQL Server ever since.

RE: Why SQL Server?

Revenant — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:58:49 GMT

I have been on SQL Server since 1997. Until then I worked with PowerBuilder’s WatCom, Informix and Oracle.I got pissed off at Oracle because I had a fixed price contract and five people on payroll, and there was a showstopper problem with Oracle and their technical support took over a week to return my call and another week to suggest a circumvention. I took a bath on that.A few weeks later I was doing a for me-critical project for Intel and I ran into a problem with SQLS 6.5 accessed from VB5 under MTS. (MTS was Microsoft Transaction Server, then the hottest Microsoft technology.)I reported the problem to Microsoft. They called me back in half an hour and promised a fix. They posted that fix for me on their bulletin board – no Microsoft support Web site back then – in 40 hours. Then they called me and the support tech explained that the problem was caused by VB-to-MTS interfaces that erroneously set locks for any SELECT query and because it was an error, they were not lifted and had to expire. And the tech told me that no one on the MTS team went home for two nights.I have been on SQL Server ever since and I never again touched Oracle.On some projects I am using Azure blobs and tables, and for large volumes (“Big Data”) I use Cosmos with its SQL-based SCOPE.

RE: Why SQL Server?

SQLRNNR — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 11:11:24 GMT

RE: Why SQL Server?

cdonlan 18448 — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:37:20 GMT

I actively sought out a .NET/ SQL Server career about 12 years ago. I was in the mainframe (MVS) world writing COBOL on IMS and DB2 databases. I shudder at the thought now. I got some exposure doing some BI development work on ORACLE and enjoyed SQL programming a lot more than JCL and COBOL. I went with SQL Server because I found the integrated components compelling and easy to use as well underrated if not idiosyncratic. Now I prefer data work mostly. No regrets.

RE: Why SQL Server?

TravisDBA — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:01:16 GMT

As Jonathan Kehayias likes to calls it, i was an "Accidental DBA". I started the role years ago part-time filling a void for someone who left, and it quickly grew into a full-time gig, and the money isn't too bad either.:-D

RE: Why SQL Server?

Miles Neale — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 10:01:13 GMT

For me it was a progression. Started with Direct Access Method, DAM on a mainframe and got to BDAM, ISAM, DBASE, RBASE, ADABAS, AS400 OS2 and DB2, then to SQL Server and have not left. Until I got to DB2 on the 400 I was doing direct calls to the root kernel of the database doing my own buffering and control of the data. Using pointers and walking through ADABAS L1 returns was not easy and was time consuming. When I hit DB2 it was a new world, but when SQL Server opened up to to me it was like seeing the Promised Land. I have dabbled in ORACLE some but have little interest of going there right now. Friends have gone there and most have returned to SQL Server, others have become ORACLE Masters and love it. It is what it is. And for me it is SQL Server by choice I guess.:-)M.

RE: Why SQL Server?

OCTom — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:59:37 GMT

[quote][b]gmby (3/1/2013)[/b][hr]I fondly remember those days when I would re-build indexes with my dad in the garage on saturday mornings...right after cartoons...jg[/quote]:laugh:That's funny!My favorite 'toons were the WB ones with Bugs, Road Runner, et al.

RE: Why SQL Server?

b3yond — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 08:53:36 GMT

I used to be a Sys Admin and fell into administering SQL Server at the same time, I'd only worked for smaller businesses at the time. Because the network wasn't very large I had time on my hands so I spent time learning VB.NET, the development language used by the company, to work on small projects that wouldn't interfere with my Sys Admin tasks. They also saw fit to send me on a few SQL courses, one of which being SQL performance tuning ran by Itzik Ben-Gan, after which I performance tuned the system.Shortly after that I was made redundant which gave me three choices of career, stick as a Sys Admin or try my hand at being a coder or DBA. I didn't want to stay as a Sys Admin as I was bored and found the other two far more interesting. Coding and DBA work seemed to pay about the same, but there appeared to be less DBA's out there, the decicion was made. I took a chance and went for a contract DBA role covering maternity leave.I honestly haven't looked back, the job fits and seems well matched to my personality type. My whole way of being is about efficiency (I'm not saying it's the best way to be, it's just the way I am). For instance, I know to the minute how long it takes me to get ready in the morning or when cooking, everything is prepped before starting to ensure the work area is tidy so I can cook without distraction. Enough babbling....I'm now a Senior Database Dev and have just recruited my first member of staff for the newly formed database team. I think I made the right career choice :-D

RE: Why SQL Server?

jfogel — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:59:41 GMT

At a company I used to work for the application used a somewhat proprietary files system based "database" utilizing a DISAM setup. .dat and .idx files and either file type was prone to corruption as soon as it would hit a certain size. It was fast though. Market demand was what really caused us to make the move to supporting either an Oracle or SQL Server back end and this was in the 6.5 and 7x of Oracle days. Once we did that I was thrown in to the database world where I had to be knowledgeable about both Oracle and SQL Server because we now had to code for both. I found all of it fascinating and I worked closely with the DBA we had at the time. Eventually he left the company and I moved in to his role. I left that company and moved in to the role of a production DBA for both Oracle and SQL Server with a focus on Oracle as that company was in the process of a total redo of the application that was the heart of the business. That company didn't make it so the next move still involved daily work with both platforms but more for SQL Server as clients chose that due to the lower cost. Eventually most Oracle activity tapered of and tended to be more dev work and since my Oracle boxes were dev platforms there wasn't a need to keep my Oracle skills sharp so the focus was really all about SQL Server since I actually had production boxes on that platform. For years I was the DBA not just for our company but for many of our clients as the folks who ran Oracle tended to have deeper pockets and could afford to have a DBA or even a team of them on staff where the SQL Server clients typically did not.Going on 15 years or so with SQL Server and I'm glad I stuck with it. I still find it fun to work with and it helps a lot that a DBA is always in need so finding a job isn't a problem.

RE: Why SQL Server?

Dave Morris — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:38:11 GMT

I was employed as a Data Analyst in health care. The organization used a Firebird based system and I found myself starting to code SQL to obtain data for analysis. Eventually the organization decided to create a warehouse using SQL Server 2000 for it's reporting and analysis needs and due to my experience with the SQL language I was moved to work on development on the warehouse and reporting solutions, in a very small team. Since then there has been a lot to learn and still is...... So it was a happy accident for me. I have enjoyed the declarative nature of SQL, though I still enjoy 'meddling' in VB. The more I know about SQL Server technologies, the more there seems there is to know, so I am very happy with the way things have turned out. I totally agree with a previous post, there is no need to be bored.

RE: Why SQL Server?

gmby — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:34:45 GMT

I fondly remember those days when I would re-build indexes with my dad in the garage on saturday mornings...right after cartoons...jg

RE: Why SQL Server?

hakim.ali — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:25:36 GMT

I started off doing software development with Coldfusion and VB6/VB.NET in my first few jobs. Fortunately, the database was always SQL Server. Over time, I just gravitated towards working on the database partly because the job demanded it and partly because I seemed to enjoy working with the database more than the front end. I have had forays into MySQL, and even been offered full-time jobs on MySQL which I turned down. After having worked with both and comparing the two and seeing how much better SQL Server is, I find MySQL development frustrating because SQL Server makes so many things so much easier, and is far far more capable. I also really like the SQL Server community.

RE: Why SQL Server?

chuckboycejr — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 07:03:58 GMT

How I got started with SQL Server?I was a Sybase DBA and the company where I worked was conducting a physical audit and they were powering down physical machines in the hopes of clearing out a server room. A machine that was incorrectly thought to be not in use was powered down and internal clients complained. The team doing the audit powered the machine back up and logged in and discovered it had a SQL Server install on it.We did not have a SQL Server DBA and since I was the Sybase DBA it fell into my lap.I had no client software and we had no installation media for me to install SQL client tools.I did some googling (or AltaVista or whatever was around back then) and discovered a swiss army knife of a multi-RDBMS client tool called WinSQL.The sa password was blank so I was able to login with WinSQL using sa and no password.Thus began my relationship with SQL Server.

RE: Why SQL Server?

OCTom — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 06:55:33 GMT

I have always loved working with the people for whom I develop applications. I have never "loved" a technology. A technology such as SQL Server is a tool to delivering a product. I work in SQL Server now because my employer has it. That has always been the case. Whether I was an employee or a contractor, I always had to adjust to whatever technology was required at the time. I have always looked at that as an opportunity to learn something new. I have seen the technological flavor of the day come and go many times over the years (30 + years now). I have learned to not get too excited about a given technology or platform. My next flavor of the day adventure coming is android device programming. I do love learning new things. :-)Tom

RE: Why SQL Server?

Sigerson — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 06:30:53 GMT

I work as a sole programmer for a law firm doing both ends, front and back. I've been with SQL Server since around 2000. Before that I had experience with Access to start, then Oracle and PL-SQL, and a mercifully short waltz with DB2. Since I met SQL Server and T-SQL, I've never looked back. What other DBMS has this combination of power and extreme reliability? Initially I was handed SQL Server as "the back end" but if I have any choice in the matter, I'll never work with any other database.

RE: Why SQL Server?

G Bryant McClellan — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 06:03:59 GMT

I was doing mainframe FOCUS development when I first met SQL. We were a big red N shop and the W word was not tolerated well. An outcast from another team was put on our team because he wrote VB applications for Win3x. This was when WinNT was first released and SQL Server was at version 4.x. I had the great good fortune to be taught both technologies by Takker (nickname of the outcast). Over the years I moved off the mainframe and began writing .ASP when Visual Interdev went gold. Eventually I started doing VB and then .Net development. But the SQL always came along for the ride. I was fortunate enough about 10 years ago to stop doing interface development and concentrate on SQL development and I couldn't be happier.A rut is somewhere you don't want to be. I had that problem with interface work. Just not my gig. SQL gives me a solid development environment that crosses many boundaries (TSQL/SSIS/SSRS/SSAS) so there is no reason to be bored. And it is maturing at a faster rate with many new features and technologies in each release so you can always find a new an better way to accomplish something.

RE: Why SQL Server?

batgirl — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 05:48:04 GMT

I started learning SQL when I was doing entry level tech support at Microsoft Business Solutions for an accounting product. I simply could not have done that job without looking under the hood. Every IT position I've had since then has increased my skill set and knowledge (as well as my curiosity!) about the product.I'm currently doing project management for an automotive parts manufacturer and SQL Server is a prevalent part of the systems here - getting ready to plan an upgrade to SQL Server 2012.

RE: Why SQL Server?

Keith Langmead — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 05:17:04 GMT

For me it was definitely a case of falling into it. As a Sys Admin, myself and a couple of colleagues had to learn several technologies for a project at work, so we split them between us and I ended up with SQL Server. I think the tenuous reason was that as the person responsible for backups I'd spent time in SQL getting the backups to work, and therefore knew slightly more about it than the others.I went on to do my 2000 MCDBA, and ever since it seems I've been "the DBA".I'd still describe myself as a Sysadmin rather than a DBA, since SQL is only part of my job, but I definitely enjoy it. I think what attracts me to it is that many of the parallels between Sysadmin work and DBA work are exactly those things I enjoy most in my job. I've certainly thought about focusing more on SQL in the future, but aside from that definitely requiring a job change, I'd miss playing with all the other tech!

RE: Why SQL Server?

Gary Varga — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 04:54:29 GMT

I work as a freelance developer (mainly .NET at the moment) so a large part of of that decision is taken away from me as it lies with my clients. Arguable, I agree to take on work that includes SQL Server elements, however, like many I have worked with Oracle, DB2 and various other database technologies (RDBMS and otherwise).I prefer to work with SQL Server over the other technologies because I enjoy working on a well integrated stack that in the large part "just works" (troll away). There is plenty for me to remember and learn with each contract that to cover too many database technologies might be spreading myself too thinly and would be a disservice to my clients. I like the commonalities across the toolsets. It is also easier to switch between different versions of the same product compared to also having to switch between different products.How did I get into SQL Server? As a Windows C++ developer I took on a role that required development against SQL Server 7. I had already received a theoretical relational database education so it was about learning the tools and, most importantly, where practice differs from theory. Fortunately, I was working with an experienced DBA who was also a very nice chap. He ripped apart my first database schema design (in part) and pieced it back together in a review in front of me and others BUT he explained why. The review of the next schema I designed was far simpler for him and far more satisfying for me. Clever as well as nice, eh?As for SQLServerCentral.com, well I could say that I gravitate to fellow reprobates but seriously I had an issue (cannot remember what, why or for whom) and found knowledge here both in the form of articles and from fellow professionals. I love the lighthearted approach of most allowing scathing debates without it becoming personal - although it must be said that sometimes Steve does step in to stop it going too far.

RE: Why SQL Server?

Jeff Moden — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:04:41 GMT

Heh... my goodness. Why would anyone consider being "stuck" in SQL Server being "stuck"? I actually gave up the front-end world (11 years ago) to work almost exclusively in SQL Server and haven't regretted that decision for even a split second.

Why SQL Server?

Steve Jones - SSC Editor — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:05:09 GMT

Comments posted to this topic are about the item [B]Why SQL Server?[/B]