Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

SQL Prompt and SSMS 18.5

I downloaded SSMS 18.5, as there were a lot of fixes in here and thought this was a good upgrade to try. I’d heard reports of major changes in the VS shell causing issues with various add-ins, including Redgate tools, so I decided to verify things. Especially for SQL Prompt.

Tl;dr: The SQL Prompt fix is here: http://download.red-gate.com/checkforupdates/SQLPrompt/SQLPrompt_10.1.4.14671.exe

As soon I installed this and started SSMS, the fun began.

This was all before the SSMS login. I connected to a database and SQL Prompt is definitely broken.

Fortunately, Redgate released a fix today, which you can download from http://download.red-gate.com/checkforupdates/SQLPrompt/SQLPrompt_10.1.4.14671.exe

I downloaded that and ran the install. I also upgraded SQL Change Automation at the same time. After this, I restarted SSMS and Prompt now works.

Other fixes are on the way, as the teams are scrambling. This isn’t a big fix, but it is updating some things that changed as MS upgraded part of the shell.

The most important tool is now working. If you’ve never tried it, download SQL Prompt today and see how much faster you can write code.

April 8, 2020
Jupyter Book Challenges in ADS
I was excited to try the Jupyter Book feature in the March Azure Data Studio (ADS) release. I’ve thought notebooks were an interesting way to teach and I’m looking to expand my use of them, especially now that SQL Prompt is (kind of) in there.

I saw the new notebook icon in the sidebar when I restarted ADS.

If you put the cursor on the “Saved Books” line, you’ll see a few things. There is an “Open Book”, a collapse all, and an ellipsis there.

I didn’t have any books, and don’t see any “create” in the file menu, so I ended up clicking the ellipsis. Then I see a “Create”.

Clicking this opens a notebook with three parts. These are designed to help you create a Jupyter Book. There are:
1. Installation
2. Create a New Book
3. Open Your Book!
I started with this and right away found issues.

What in the world is the f”xxx” thing?

I wrestled with this a bit, trying to search for Jupyter Books, but most of the results are Jupyter Notebooks. Apparently Jupyter Books are new, and that should have helped. I did post a question at StackOverflow, and someone gave me the answer quickly.

You need Python 3.6+. These are f strings, a new way of formatting, which I hadn’t heard of prior to this. I lightly use Python, and hadn’t upgraded since 3.5.3.

OK, that’s another whole issue, but once I upgraded and fixed paths, this appeared to work. I first ran the jupyter-book install, and then created a demo book first to ensure things were working.

I ran step 1 in the ADS notebook and it verified the Jupyter Book module was installed.

Next I ran step two, which asks for a path for your notebook, which should be an empty folder or a new folder. I entered a new folder that doesn’t exist (e:\jbook). Next, I entered a folder where I have a few random notebooks. I also added a license file, since the Jupyter Book project suggests one. Here was the folder I added:

The cell appeared to run, but then I saw this:

The license file is misnamed, which makes sense. However, I didn’t get a TOC, which I think means I need to have folders under my set of notebooks. I was thinking this book was a simple set, but maybe I need folders.

I also didn’t create a TOC yaml file because a) I didn’t think I needed it and b) YAML is a PIA to work in. I don’t mind editing one, but creating from scratch is a mess.

When I got to step 3 and opened my notebook, I got this:

An error down below, as I’m missing something. I’m not sure what, and I can’t open the book and see anything, but I produced something.

I need to experiment more, so I’ll give this another try soon.
April 8, 2020
More Time to Certify

With all of the shutdowns and quarantines with the COVID-19 pandemic, Microsoft has extended their deadline to finish the MCSA, MCSD, and MCSE certfifications. Previously old certification exams were due to expire on June 30, 2020. You had until then to complete your work. Now the timeline has been extended to January 31, 2021. This gives you more time to earn the cert you started.

I haven’t held an active certification for years. I found them useful for studying and focusing my learning early in my career, but less so now. Working towards a test is also a time sink for me, when I often don’t quite have as much time as I’d like to get other things done. Life is busy, and I haven’t been as focused in a single area in a long time.

However, I do think that certifications can be helpful in a few ways to many people, in addition to focusing your learning. Scheduling an exam puts pressure on you and will drive you to learn more. The semi-vague requirements will force you to learn more things than you might otherwise work on, which broadens your knowledge. I’ve found that to be particularly helpful in my career, when I have a wide variety of skills in different areas.

Maybe the one area that you can use to further your career and open doors is to point to the certification not as a measure of knowledge and skill, but of desire. It takes active effort to learn and pass a certification exam, and employers need people that are hungry to learn and grow, and most importantly, willing to do this on their own time. It’s a good point to make if you talk about your work in an interview or write something on your blog.

In addition to extending the deadline, Microsoft has changed the fees for rescheduling and cancellation, which is good. They’re also working for more remote proctoring of exams, which will allow more people to take these tests from work or home instead of having to drive to a facility. They are also extending out voucher and discount dates.

If you’re interested in pursuing something, let us know today. I’m considering some of the Azure role based certifications, mostly because they may focus my learning. Now I just need to find time and make the decision to actually move in that direction.

Steve Jones

Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher or iTunes.

April 8, 2020
More Time to Certify

With all of the shutdowns and quarantines with the COVID-19 pandemic, Microsoft has extended their deadline to finish the MCSA, MCSD, and MCSE certfifications. Previously old certification exams were due to expire on June 30, 2020. You had until then to complete your work. Now the timeline has been extended to January 31, 2021. This gives you more time to earn the cert you started.

I haven’t held an active certification for years. I found them useful for studying and focusing my learning early in my career, but less so now. Working towards a test is also a time sink for me, when I often don’t quite have as much time as I’d like to get other things done. Life is busy, and I haven’t been as focused in a single area in a long time.

However, I do think that certifications can be helpful in a few ways to many people, in addition to focusing your learning. Scheduling an exam puts pressure on you and will drive you to learn more. The semi-vague requirements will force you to learn more things than you might otherwise work on, which broadens your knowledge. I’ve found that to be particularly helpful in my career, when I have a wide variety of skills in different areas. I can often solve more complex problems.

Maybe the one area that you can use to further your career and open doors is to point to the certification not as a measure of knowledge and skill, but of desire. It takes active effort to learn and pass a certification exam, and employers need people that are hungry to learn and grow, and most importantly, willing to do this on their own time. It’s a good point to make if you talk about your work in an interview or write something on your blog.

In addition to extending the deadline, Microsoft has changed the fees for rescheduling and cancellation, which is good. They’re also working for more remote proctoring of exams, which will allow more people to take these tests from work or home instead of having to drive to a facility. They are also extending out voucher and discount dates.

If you’re interested in pursuing something, let us know today. I’m considering some of the Azure role based certifications, mostly because they may focus my learning. Now I just need to find time and make the decision to actually move in that direction.

Steve Jones

Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher or iTunes.

April 8, 2020