This article looks at logging your database changes from a developer's perspective.   Read more...

Testing is an important part of any software development process, but it's a part that many of us skimp on or ignore because of the tedious nature of testing. Longtime author Grant Fritchey has been working with Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals and has written us an article on how you can make your unit testing easier.   Read more...

Learn how to keep track of previous versions of code in case your next upgrade doesn't go well from SQL Server guru Tim Chapman.  Read more...

The same ANSI Standard SQL query can run against identical data on SQL Server and Oracle and return different results. So just because your application issues ANSI standard SQL, don't assume it's portable.   Read more...

Every SQL Server developer has a preferred method of doing things; mine is what I call molecular queries. These are queries assembled from atomic queries; by which, I mean that they address exactly one table. By combing atoms, I can create molecules.   Read more...

No developer or DBA wants to be told how to write their code. Everyone has their own style, but this can cause problems in a team environment where different people need to work on the same section of code. New author Pam Abdulla brings us a few simple techniques that can help you write more maintainable code.   Read more...

This article adds some handy reporting capabilities to the new load testing tool in Visual Studio 2005 Team System.  Read more...

Although the challenges of designing and developing an embedded software package are obvious, the effort of providing remote support for the deployed application is often underestimated.  Read more...

One of the fundamental skills a developer needs is the ability to test their code. Most people don't really do a good job, partly because they don't have a good process and leave testing until the end. Grant Fritchey brings us a new method of unit testing T-SQL stored procedures that can help you build automated tests for your code.   Read more...

This (new) design bothered me. It violated one of the fundamentals that I'd learned and read about for years; namely keeping the primary key small and narrow. It also looked like it would be difficult to maintain. Finally, after arguing back and forth about the merits and drawbacks of each of the designs, we decided that testing them was the only way to be sure  Read more...

If you deliver applications to a customer, then you have struggled with the challenges of updating schemas as they change. New author Serhiy Snisarenko brings us his comprehensive process and code to make this task easier.   Read more...

Most software projects fail. Only about a quarter are completely successful. About half are late and over budget and the remaining quarter just fade into oblivion. What if there was a simple way to ensure your project’s success? There is, and it’s all about starting out in the right way  Read more...

There are lots of systems for developing software, but it often seems that DBAs don't adhere to any of them. New author Sudheer Palyam brings us a look at one that he has used in developing T-SQL applications, whereby the test scripts are written first.   Read more...

This whitepaper is intended to shed light on the issues affecting application performance in the wide area, and to give IT managers the knowledge required to design strategic enterprise application acceleration and deployment solutions  Read more...

I have not been a real big fan of using VPC until recently with the Betas and releases of Visual Studio and SQL 2005. Now I can’t stop creating images with different environments for testing Service Packs, OS, Project Server, VS/SQL2005, etc. I want to share with you and also record the steps I used for making my images run efficiently.   Read more...

Some time ago, I worked on a team that was attempting to define an IT strategy for a large multinational company. Management incorrectly thought the company was unique in that it had a high number of failed IT projects. In fact, only one in four IT projects can be termed successful, if the benchmarks of success are adherence to scheduled completion time and budget, and realization of the project goal, whether that be saving money, growing the business, or what have you. I have to explain this because many of you may never have come across one.   Read more...

This article by Chris Kempster covers a wide variety of areas concerned with data migration. Primarily, it focuses on process, standards and some of the many issues to consider when undertaking this role.   Read more...

If you develop SQL databases, you know how difficult it can be to promote from the development environment to production with any level of confidence that the databases are the same. When you have upgrades, it’s difficult to identify changes as well, especially when there are multiple developers making changes to multiple databases. The problem is compounded if your target environment is a client’s system over which you have no control. It’s staggering to think about what can happen if there are 600-plus client systems that have various versions of your database.   Read more...

Author Sean McCown would like to see some improvements in the editing tools that are available. He's proposed some changes and ideas to make a better tool. Join the discussion and see if you can get the SQL Server vendors to build something to make every DBA's job easier.   Read more...

Whether you write TSQL code or front end VB code against your SQL Server, it pays to have some good development practices that make your life easier. Jonathan Stokes has written a good article showing some of the good practices you should use.   Read more...