Business Intelligence with SQL Server Reporting Services - Part 2

A look at Parameterized reports, stored procedures to retrieve data and the Report Viewer.

Enabling Drillthrough in Analysis Services 2005

Discover the new Analysis Services 2005 drillthrough architecture. See how to set up drillthrough in Analysis Services 2005 and get guidance on migrating drillthrough settings from Analysis Services 2000 databases.

Using TRY/CATCH to Resolve Deadlocks in SQL Server 2005

Deadlocks are unavoidable artifacts of today's RDBMS architecture–and all too common in high-volume OLTP environments. But thanks to .NET's Common Language Runtime (CLR), SQL Server 2005 provides developers with a new way to deal with error handling. In this month's column, Ron Talmage shows you how to harness TRY/CATCH to help resolve a deadlock.

Controlling Transactions and Locks in SQL 2000 and 2005 - Part 1

A look at controlling transactions and locks with hints and snapshots in SQL Server 2000 and 2005.

Database Geek of the Week - Shawn Wildermuth

Shawn Wildermuth is the “go-to guy” for information on ADO.NET. He is the author of Pragmatic ADO.NET: Data Access for the Internet World and numerous articles, is a Microsoft MVP, and works as an independent consultant in Atlanta.

Shawn’s web site, The ADO Guy, is a good resource for developers looking for answers to questions about ADO and ADO.NET. The site also lists interesting blogs, books and sites that are among Shawn’s favorites.

ADO.NET Data Sets

This article looks at how partial classes can be used to implement business logic into datasets so that they are more business aware and intelligent.

The dataset is an integral part of Microsoft’s new data access model ADO.NET. It introduces a simple offline method for retrieving and updating data. Before using the dataset, you should have an understanding of the Microsoft .NET platform and a basic understanding of the dataset model.

Michael Rys on XML in SQL Server 2005

Michael Rys is one of two program managers responsible for the XML features in SQL Server. He also represents Microsoft on the W3C XQuery Working Group, and on the ANSI working group for SQL. I asked him what is distinctive about the XML support in SQL Server 2005, as opposed to that found in rival database management systems. As Rys acknowledges, "all the three major vendors, Oracle, IBM and Microsoft, are moving towards second or third generation suppor

Cross-Tab reports in SQL Server 2005

Microsoft introduces new operators PIVOT and UNPIVOT in SQL Server 2005. Traditionally we create queries using the CASE statement and aggregate function in order to produce cross-tab reports. This article illustrates the usage of the new operators, PIVOT and UNPIVOT.

SQL Server Integration Services - Part 5

We will continue our review of Foreach enumerators starting with Foreach ADO, since this one probably qualifies as the most popular choice in its category. This is due to the fact that ADO recordsets offer a convenient way of dealing with data sources, regardless of their type (for example, within SSIS, you can easily populate a recordset by executing a SQL query or by reading the content of a flat file)

Attack of the predatory sales force

Most skilled professionals—be they butchers, bakers or software makers—take pride in selecting their own tools of the trade. Why is it then that developers and DBAs in large corporations often are not afforded the same professional courtesy or opportunity? The tools they use are just as vital to their livelihood, yet when it comes to high-cost software, developers and DBAs often have no input into what is purchased for their use.