DBA Learning Experiences (Oops!)

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DBA Learning Experiences (Oops!)

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Robert W Marda

Posted Thursday, January 03, 2002 8:42 AM

SSC Eights!

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I am Robert Marda and am hoping to spark some constructive conversation here. This is the first of a few topic ideas I have.

I have been working with SQL Server and SQL since March 1999. I was given my first DBA position in May 1999.

Within my first month as a DBA I successfully
deleted all rows in our main table - Oops!(containing the location and serial numbers of all computer components used to produce ID cards at US military bases). The deletion was not intentional but happened due to my lack of SQL knowledge and the fact that we had no development nor testing environment (a very bad combination). Thankfully I had run a full backup recently and was able to restore from that.

Because of this experience, I usually develop all queries as a SELECT to ensure I see only what I want to change before converting the SELECT to a DELETE or UPDATE statement. One of my philosophies is "What you see is what will be changed."

Robert Marda
SQL Programmer
bigdough.com

Robert W. Marda
SQL Programmer
Ipreo

Post #2074

Robert W Marda

Posted Thursday, January 03, 2002 8:49 AM

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I forgot to post an invitation for others to add your own learning experiences here. Please add experiences you've had that taught you a valuable lesson about being a DBA (or SQL Programmer)

Robert Marda
SQL Programmer
bigdough.com

Robert W. Marda
SQL Programmer
Ipreo

Post #25644

K. Brian Kelley

Posted Thursday, January 03, 2002 9:06 AM

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One of the things I can tack on to this is if I'm having to run queries manually to make changes to the data, I'll start a tran. After each step of the process, I'll verify that the data looks as it should. If it doesn't, I can roll everything back. Once I get to the end of the process, if everything is as it should be, I commit the tran.

It should be noted that in cases like this I've been having to make changes to data in production (don't ask), and at the time the app is down (usually because the data is hosed). As a result, I'm not worried about blocking others from the resources... got to get things fixed that the app broke!

K. Brian Kelley
bk@warpdrivedesign.org
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/bkelley/

K. Brian Kelley, CISA, MCSE, Security+, MVP - SQL Server
Regular Columnist (Security), SQLServerCentral.com
Author of Introduction to SQL Server: Basic Skills for Any SQL Server User
| Professional Development blog | Technical Blog |

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Post #25645

Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Posted Thursday, January 03, 2002 11:04 AM

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I extensively use the CTRL-SHIFT-C and CTRL-SHIFT-R extensively in QA to comment and uncomment a series of lines when making queries (as well as begin tran).
Why?

Too often I've typed the following:
-------------

select *
from product
where producttype = 2

delete product
where producttype = 2

---------
Then I highlight the first query and run it. check my results, then highlight the second query and run it.

Of course, sometimes I highlight "delete product" without the where clause

you can imagine what happens then....

Since I may have a few updates/inserts/deletes, I decided to comment them out until I need them and I can just run the entire script without worrying about highlighting. Not the greatest, but it prevents some of my stupider mistakes from being repeated.

Other goofs:

-- Running and update on the wrong server (another reason to use begin tran) (quite a few times)

-- not verifying the results of a query before telling someone I've done it (more often than I would like)

-- ignoring a DBCC error (was busy). DB was down for a day while I worked with MS Support to fix it. (only once)

-- making a change on production without testing in the QA environment (not too many times, but still to many)

Steve Jones
steve@dkranch.net

Follow me on Twitter: @way0utwest

Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help

Post #25646

Robert W Marda

Posted Thursday, January 03, 2002 11:22 AM

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Last Login: Friday, February 15, 2013 10:33 AM
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One technique I use to try to avoid deletes or updates when highlighting only a portion of a query is to use table aliases and always include a FROM clause (even though not required). This way if I only highlight the top line it will fail because SQL Server can't find the aliased table.

For example:

delete tbl
FROM tablename tbl
WHERE UserID = 1

I am going to have to look into using begin tran. I'm sure this will help me avoid some of the mistakes I make.

Robert Marda

Robert W. Marda
SQL Programmer
Ipreo

Post #25647

Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Posted Thursday, January 03, 2002 11:34 AM

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aliased tables is a great idea. Never use that one. I'll give it a try. Thanks!!

Steve Jones
steve@dkranch.net

Follow me on Twitter: @way0utwest

Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help

Post #25648

Lonnie Wimble

Posted Monday, January 07, 2002 6:40 AM

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Here's a tip I find useful. Many times I will have several scripts in the same window of QA. To ensure that I don't accidently run a deletion that follows a select, etc., I precede all my delete and update actions with a comment -- tag. Hitting Alt-X accidently while in the script window could have disastrous affects Smile

Post #25649

Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Posted Monday, January 07, 2002 10:47 AM

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Lonnie, try highlingting and using CTRL-Shift-C to comment a series of lines. Works great to prevent that accidental delete!

Steve Jones
steve@dkranch.net

Follow me on Twitter: @way0utwest

Forum Etiquette: How to post data/code on a forum to get the best help

Post #25650

mchapin

Posted Tuesday, January 08, 2002 9:06 AM

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There are some good tips here.

One that has worked for me is to put a string of characters, I typically use ******, on the first line of the query analyzer window. If you accidently run the query without anything highlighted you will get an error instead of all the queries running.

Post #25651

Robert W Marda

Posted Tuesday, January 08, 2002 11:05 AM

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Last Login: Friday, February 15, 2013 10:33 AM
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I have used a similar technique in DTS packages. When testing a certain part of a DTS package and unable to monitor its progress I'll go to where I want the package to stop and put a line of code in a task that will fail to force the package to stop at just the right spot. This way I don't have to worry that it completes and imports data when the data is not ready or a transformation is not working right (and this has happened to me a time or two).

Robert Marda

Robert W. Marda
SQL Programmer
Ipreo

Post #25652

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