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Stairway to SQL Server Replication: Level 1 - Introduction to SQL Server Replication

Sebastian Meine from SQLServerCentral.com

In this Stairway, Sebastian will be covering the details of SQL Server transactional and merge replication, from understanding the basic terminology and methodology of setting up replication, to describing how it works and how the basic replication processes can be monitored.  More »

How to create and use Temp tables in SSIS

Additional Articles from MSSQLTips.com

Creating temp tables in SSIS seems like a straight-forward process using the Execute SQL Task, however there are a couple of properties that must be changed. In this tip, we’ll walk through creating a simple temp table in SSIS. More »

From the SQLServerCentral Blogs - SSIS Precedence Constraint Tutorial

KatieAndEmil from SQLServerCentral.com

Recently we decided to create a series of videos for our SSIS Precedence Constraint Tutorial which is part of our... More »

This editorial was originally published on May 12, 2008. It is being re-run as Steve is on vacation.

At least at the top. I was reading the Joel on Software latest entry the other day about architecture astronauts and it seemed to make some sense in terms of developers building things they only think people will need, but the tone of the article was quite a rant. It actually sounds very different and a little angry compared to other things he's written in the past.

It was at the end of the rant that I saw this: "Why I really care is that Microsoft is vacuuming up way too many programmers." and "...between Microsoft and Google the starting salary for a smart CS grad is inching dangerously close to six figures and these smart kids, the cream of our universities, are working on hopeless and useless architecture astronomy..."

That last paragraphs (there's more ranting I left out), seem to sum up why Joel is angry. Whether he should be or not is another story. I tend to believe that if someone can pay more and someone wants to work for more and accept the environment, they should be allowed to do so. It might not seem fair and seem to give an advantage to a larger company, but I think we should all be allowed to choose for whom we work and why we go there.

The top graduates in any field are always in demand, really the top people in any field, and they will end up getting bigger salaries, and help to drive up the cost of labor. It happens in movies, in sports, and many other fields, and the top people get the headlines. But for every baseball or basketball player making $10 million a year, there are dozens getting $200k or $300k and that's not reported quite as widely.

The same thing happens here. Or at least I think it is happening here with the top graduates getting close to 6 figures. While that might push up the cost of the second tier and other CS grads (and other people changing jobs), I'm not sure it means that all programmers will cost this much. I think the salaries might rise a little over time, but overall it takes time for those averages to filter through to the HR departments and raise salaries. So most of us don't benefit and it's not worth getting upset about.

In smaller companies this might happen quicker as managers or even owners have the flexibility to quickly decide to pay more for a particular person, but I'm not sure how many companies want to match the larger salaries or perks of a Microsoft or Google. Or even can match that environment. If someone wants to go to work at a large company, with a big budget, lots of resources, the prestige of being in the news, etc., why is that a bad thing?

I guarantee you that for every 10 people that want to work at Microsoft or Google, there are some other very talented people that want to work in a smaller environment, avoid bureaucracy, have a larger impact on the company, or just live in a different place. I'm a good example of this.

A lot of people have mentioned they think I have some talent in the database area and I think it would be cool to work for Microsoft, especially in the SQL Server group, but unless I can work from Denver, there probably isn't an offer they can make to get me to move to Redmond. There's a lot more to my career than money or perks.

'Course I wouldn't mind them making an offer. Being the "Voice of Microsoft" has a nice ring to it :P.

Steve Jones

The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

The podcast feeds are now available at sqlservercentral.podshow.com to get better bandwidth and maybe a little more exposure :). Comments are definitely appreciated and wanted, and you can get feeds from there.

Overall RSS Feed: or now on iTunes!

• Windows Media Podcast - 30MB WMV
• iPod Video Podcast - 23MB MP4
• MP3 Audio Podcast - 4.8MB

Today's podcast features music by Everyday Jones. No relation, but I stumbled on to them and really like the music. Support this great duo at www.everydayjones.com.

I really appreciate and value feedback on the podcasts. Let us know what you like, don't like, or even send in ideas for the show. If you'd like to comment, post something here. The boss will be sure to read it.

Steve Jones from SQLServerCentral.com

» Join the debate, and respond to today's editorial on the forums

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Today's Question:

When you run the following code, what will be printed to the Messages pane?

SET NOCOUNT ON;

CREATE TABLE HeapTest (ID INT IDENTITY(1, 1), DESCR VARCHAR(255));

IF EXISTS(SELECT *
FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID(), OBJECT_ID('HeapTest'), NULL, NULL, 'SAMPLED')
WHERE page_count > 0)
 PRINT 'Table Contains Pages After Create';

INSERT INTO HeapTest (DESCR)
SELECT TOP 20000 REPLICATE('X', 255)
FROM sys.objects o1
CROSS JOIN sys.objects o2;

IF EXISTS(SELECT *
FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID(), OBJECT_ID('HeapTest'), NULL, NULL, 'SAMPLED')
WHERE page_count > 0)
 PRINT 'Table Contains Pages After Load';

DELETE FROM HeapTest;

IF EXISTS(SELECT *
FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID(), OBJECT_ID('HeapTest'), NULL, NULL, 'SAMPLED')
WHERE page_count > 0)
 PRINT 'Table Contains Pages After Delete';

INSERT INTO HeapTest (DESCR)
SELECT TOP 20000 REPLICATE('X', 255)
FROM sys.objects o1
CROSS JOIN sys.objects o2;

IF EXISTS(SELECT *
FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID(), OBJECT_ID('HeapTest'), NULL, NULL, 'SAMPLED')
WHERE page_count > 0)
 PRINT 'Table Contains Pages After Load';

TRUNCATE TABLE HeapTest;

IF EXISTS(SELECT *
FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID(), OBJECT_ID('HeapTest'), NULL, NULL, 'SAMPLED')
WHERE page_count > 0)
 PRINT 'Table Contains Pages After Truncate';

DROP TABLE HeapTest;

By Sean Pearce

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Pro SQL Server 2012 Practices

Expert SQL Server Practices 2012 Edition is an anthology of high-end wisdom from a group of accomplished database administrators who are quietly but relentlessly pushing the performance and feature envelope of Microsoft SQL Server 2012. With an emphasis upon performance—but also branching into release management, auditing, and other issues—the book helps you deliver the most value for your company’s investment in Microsoft’s flagship database system.

Get your copy from Amazon today.

Santa receives a list from you of things that you would like to receive this Christmas. The list has 7 items, and Santa decides that you have been good enough this year to receive 5 of them. In order for the elves to find the items that Santa has marked as approved, which index type is best chosen for the list of gifts that Santa has marked with an approved flag?

By Steve Jones

Answer: filtered index

Explanation: This should be an easy one. A filtered index, which filters on the approved flags, is the best choice for Santa's gift list.

Ref: Filtered Indexes - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc280372%28v=sql.100%29.aspx

» Discuss this question and answer on the forums

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Master Data Services

Harness your master data and grow revenue while reducing administrative costs. Thoroughly revised to cover the latest MDS features, Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Master Data Services, Second Edition shows how to implement and manage a centralized, customer-focused MDS framework. See how to accurately model business processes, load and cleanse data, enforce business rules, eliminate redundancies, and publish data to external systems. Security, SOA and Web services, and legacy data integration are also covered in this practical guide.

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Get record count for a specific database

James Rea from SQLServerCentral.com

This will sum all of the records of a specified database, excluding the 'sysdiagrams' table. More »

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