Jason N. Gaylord ~ SQL Server Advice

Great Post about SELECT * Queries

I just read a pretty good post by Jon Galloway about SELECT * queries. It can be found here: http://weblogs.asp.net/jgalloway/archive/2007/07/18/the-real-reason-select-queries-are-bad-index-coverage.aspx

TECHbash 2007 Conference in Northeast PA on May 19th

TECHbash 2007

TECHbash 2007 will be on Saturday, May 19th, 2007 from 8:30am until 2:30pm at Luzerne County Community College. More specific details about the event can be found at techbash.com.

What is TECHbash 2007?
Today's IT professionals and Developers are stuck with one of the most difficult tasks: "Keeping up with the Gateses." During TECHbash, IT professionals and developers will learn some of the latest tips and tricks of the trade as well as previewing cutting edge technology. The best part about TECHbash is that its FREE! So, you'll learn some great things and bring home some cool stuff by spending a Saturday morning with your peers.

Who Should Attend
TECHbash is a technical event for IT Professionals and Developers. The event is organized and delivered by .NET Valley, Northeastern Pennsylvania's only technical User Group.

What You Will Learn
At TECHbash 2007, you will have the chance to learn the latest technologies in the industry including:

Microsoft Exchange 2007
Microsoft Windows Code-Named "Longhorn"
IP Telephony
AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript)
SharePoint

For a complete list of topics, click here.

Red Gate's SQL Prompt is Free until Version 3

Paul Litwin has pointed out in one of his blog post's that Red Gate's SQL Prompt utility, a great IntelliSense utility for SQL server can be downloaded for free until the next version is released. To download SQL Prompt, visit http://www.red-gate.com/products/SQL_Prompt/index.htm.

Preventing SQL Injection Attacks

Scott Guthrie just posted some really good stuff about preventing SQL injection attacks. In his blog post he talks about an application that Michael Sutton created to check SQL injection attacks by screening Google search and looking for sites with QueryString, etc. Check out his post for more details: http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2006/09/30/tip_2f00_trick_3a00_-guard-against-sql-injection-attacks.aspx

Frustrations over [SQLSTATE 42000] (Error 22029) in SQL 2000

I kept receiving an error message in the event viewer about 2 of my SQL jobs and couldn't figure out why it was occurring. The error contained [SQLSTATE 42000] (Error 22029). After doing some research, I realized that's a very generic error message. All of my jobs were running as the system admin account and for some reason, still failed. What I didn't realize is that in SQL 2000, if the Domain\Administrator did not have permission to the master and database, it would not tell you so. This is not the case for SQL accounts where it simply states that the user does not have permission. For some odd reason, the Domain\Administrator was removed from the System Administrator role. I guess its a good thing it was only a test database. :)

WinFS Being Dissolved, Absorbed Into SQL Server

It seems like the WinFS team has tossed in the towel. None the less, the team and its offerings will be absorbed in ADO.NET and the next version of SQL Server codenamed Katmai. To read more, click here.

SQL 2000 Support Won't Be Dropped...yet

That Wally is up to it again and this time he pulled David Silverlight into it as well! For folks who thought that SQL 2000 server support was being dropped, its not. Wally made this outrageous claim following a terrible side affect from the product Spang!

Announcing! Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals

Microsoft Corp. today announced Visual Studio® Team Edition for Database Professionals, expanding Visual Studio 2005 Team System to include tools that enable software development organizations to collaborate more effectively when creating reliable, data-driven applications. The new product will be available as a Community Technology Preview (CTP) at Tech•Ed 2006 in Boston and is expected to ship by the end of 2006. This addition to Microsoft® Visual Studio 2005 Team System is the next milestone en route to the release of Visual Studio code-named "Orcas," which will provide capabilities for building compelling applications that target Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005, Windows Vista™, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, and the next generation of Web technologies.

"One of the main issues in software development today is a lack of collaboration among members of a software development team and beyond," said S. Somasegar, corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft. "Our goal is to ensure that all members of the IT organization can gain more visibility into and greater predictability of the software development process. The expansion of Visual Studio Team System to include data tools, along with developer productivity innovations in the upcoming Visual Studio 'Orcas,' demonstrates Microsoft's commitment to providing tools that help individuals, teams and organizations derive greater efficiency when building solutions on the Microsoft platform."

What is a Database?

It's kind of funny how many times I run into individuals who think they know what a database is, but they really don't understand it. On one of my lists earlier today, I saw a post where someone was looking for beginner level resources to explain what a database is and how they are used to a friend. With some digging, they found this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/express/sql/learning/default.aspx

Security and Incidence Response Handling at .NET Valley Event

During the May 24th .NET Valley Event at Johnson College in Scranton PA, Mike Murphy, a TechNet Presenter will talk about Security and Incidence Response Handling in Microsoft SQL Server. Below is Mike's presentation overview:

"I think we've been hacked. Call the boss." What now? Join us as we discuss the most common types of security incidents and how to manage them. You'll learn how to detect and trace network intrusions and apply communication channels that will help you gain valuable information about the attacks. Your TechNet presenter will also show you how to evaluate the human side of incident response, including attacker analyses. Finally, you'll learn what to do when you suspect that your system is compromised and how to apply information gathered from security logs. Don't just react to an attack - respond with a plan.

New Address/Phone Number

You can get my new address by downloading my VCard from my website or by sending me an email.

SQL Server 2005: Oops, Application Broken!

I came in this morning and to my surprise, my one app kept failing. It was a win app that used a SQL Server 2005 backend. I checked the error logs that it generates to find that the error stated that the password expired for the 'testuser' account. Luckily, this was a test application that didn't need to be back online immediately. The 'testuser' account is both an NT account that I use impersonation with the app and also a SQL 2005 account. It took me about 15 minutes until it dawned on me that maybe I didn't uncheck the expire password option on the SQL account. Wow, don't make that mistake in an enterprise environment unless you plan on changing those passwords and staying on top of it! I guess by unchecking it I just threw out a *best practive.*

TechEd Day 2: MS Announces Release Dates For Visual Studio.NET 2005 and SQL 2005

Paul Flessner, senior vice president of Server Applications at Microsoft, announced that SQL Server™ 2005, Visual Studio® 2005 and BizTalk® Server 2006 will be formally launched during the week of November 7. This information has been made public on the Microsoft website at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/jun05/TechEd2005Day2PR.mspx.

SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence Webcasts

Microsoft has released a SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence webcast list. You can view the list of webcasts and other events here: http://www.microsoft.com/events/series/sqlserverbi.mspx

Interview with Tom Rizzo

In a recent interview at VS!Live, Tom Rizzo, the director of product management for Microsoft SQL Server, answered some questions about SQL Reporting Services and SQL Server 2005. You can read the transcript here: http://www.ftponline.com/channels/database/2005_03/rizzo/.