Creating a User Defined Aggregate with SQL Server 2005

SQL Server doesn't have a Product aggregate function. A recent blog post by Karen Watterson pointed out that Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q89656: Simulating a PRODUCT() Aggregate Function discusses how to achieve the Product aggregate functionality using the POWER function. We e-mailed about it and she challenged me to create a Product aggregate in SQL Server 2005. I decided to accept the challenge.

SQL Server 2000 Security - Part 6 - Ownership and Object Permissions

We have described, so far, authorization based on a predefined fixed server (determining a set of SQL server-wide privileges) and database (applying to database objects and activities) roles. We have also discussed application roles, which makes the level of permissions independent of those assigned to a SQL Server login or a database user account. Now it is time to look into permissions from the point of view of database objects. There are two main factors that play a role in determining how access rights to them are evaluated - their ownership and custom permissions. We will discuss the first one of these topics in this article and will continue with the other one in the next installment of this series.

Creating a Daily Visual SourceSafe (VSS) Label with A SQL Agent Job

I worked in a team recently that was failing to put Visual SourceSafe (VSS) labels on projects after they were checked in we decided to look to automation for a solution. What we cam up with is to continue to require that labels be put on versions of code when major builds where created. But we decided to augment that with automated daily labels.

Exploring 'ON DELETE SET NULL' in SQL Server 2005

At first glance, the 'ON DELETE SET NULL' option in SQL Server 2005 may not seem like a big deal, but once you've seen how it can be used, I think you will be impressed. The basics? If Order.CustomerID has a foreign key to Customer.CustomerID and a customer is deleted, 'ON DELETE SET NULL' causes the CustomerID field in each of that customer's orders to be set to NULL. It allows the "parent" record to be deleted and sets the "child" record's column to NULL. A normal foreign key says Order.CustomerID must match a record in Customer. An 'ON DELETE SET NULL' foreign key says that if Order.CustomerID is not null, then its value must match a record in Customer.

MDX Essentials: Set and String Functions: The GENERATE() Function

In this lesson, we will introduce a function that provides us the ability to derive a set by systematically applying a set expression to each of the members of a set we define. GENERATE() is a potent function in our MDX toolset, in that it enables us to select precisely only certain members of a dimension level. It effectively operates upon two sets to create a new set, based upon the members of a second set that are also in a primary set.

Quick! Which specific SQL Server user is logged into which database?

SQL Server's master database stores tables with important and constantly updated information about the state of the SQL server. One of these tables, sysprocesses, can be used to track (in SQL Server itself) which SQL Server users are currently logged in and which database(s) they are accessing.

The quick way to find out if a particular user is accessing a particular table is with a query.

Full Text Search on SQL 2000 Part 4

This article concentrates on using Full Text Search to query text located inside Microsoft Office documents. In previous articles, Microsoft Search was introduced as an add-on service to enable advanced text queries. Catalogs, the physical storage units for search, were created and indexed. The TSQL keywords CONTAINS, FORMSOF, and INFLECTIONAL were used to query the newly created Catalogs. Population Schedules along with Change Tracking options were discussed as methods to keep the Catalogs up to date with the underlying database.

Programming Replication from Heterogeneous Data Sources

Microsoft® SQL Server™ enables third-party products to become Publishers within the SQL Server replication framework. The Replication Distributor Interface allows replication from heterogeneous databases that provide 32-bit OLE DB drivers to Subscribers running SQL Server 2000. Heterogeneous data sources include:

* Oracle databases

* DB2 databases

* Microsoft Access databases

* Other databases that comply with SQL Server ODBC or OLE DB Subscriber requirements

SQL Server 2005 Integration Services: Lessons from Project REAL

In Project REAL we are using large volumes of real data and scenarios from real companies to implement business intelligence systems using early releases of Microsoft SQL Server 2005. In the process, best practices are being developed and potential problems uncovered. This article reports some of the lessons learned while working on the data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) portion of the first phase of Project REAL.

The value of experienced coders

I was about 40 the first time I was told I should not continue coding. A well-meaning vice president at my company pulled me aside at a party and told me that I was getting too old to code. He had been a coder himself, knew that he was getting too old, and moved over to sales. He was sure that I should be moving over to another part of the business. I told him that perhaps not only did he have a problem coding when he reached 40, he probably had the same problem at 38. I said that I was perfectly happy as a coder, and had every intention of continuing as long as someone was willing to pay me.