John Aherne (10/15/2007)
wow. I have been an informal dba (i.e. the only person willing to look into it) since SQL 6.5 but I cannot answer any of those questions. I am sure I have used (or made a conscious informed decision not to use) all of those, but I forgot the details as soon as I didn't need them anymore.So, what does someone like me, with a terrible memory but good problem solving skills do in an interview?
The thing is, the questions we ask are conceptual in nature. I'm not going to ask syntax questions, that's what BOL is there for. I don't care if you know every possible permutation of the CREATE INDEX statement. I need to know that you understand which index is which and where they are likely to be more useful. I have to look up basic syntax all the time. I just can't keep it straight in my head, but the concepts are there (mostly, most of the time).
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning