Voice of the DBA

Category: Blog

  • T-SQL Tuesday #155 –The Dynamic Code Invitation

    tsqltuesdayApologies for the late invitation. A minor snafu has me hosting again.

    This is the monthly blog party where someone hosts and you all write a response. I’d like to think this is one where lots of you have a story or a situation that worked out. Write a post on 11 Oct and post a comment here.

    The Invitation

    I saw a post recently where someone noted they used Excel to help build dynamic SQL for their job. I thought that was a) creative, and b) similar to something I’ve done. In fact, that will be my post for this month.

    However, while many of the experts decry dynamic SQL as a poor way of solving problems, it is not going away. In fact, it works really well for many situations and problems, albeit not necessarily a high volumes of data. There also are security concerns.

    My invitation this month is to write about producing SQL dynamically in some way. Let us know about any of these things:

    • a problem you solved
    • a creative use of technology to build SQL
    • security concerns
    • a place where dynamic SQL failed you
    • a way to convert dynamic SQL to something cleaner
    • anything else that relates to code producing code

    The Rules

    Only a few rules.

    • publish on 11 Oct 2022 sometime.
    • use the logo above and link back to this post
    • leave a comment or trackback/pingback here
    • Use the #tsql2sday hashtag to tag your post on Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
    • Encourage others to blog

    That’s it. Have fun and I look forward to reading your responses.

    If you want to host, ping me on twitter (@way0utwest) or LinkedIn or email or anything really.

  • Daily Coping 6 Oct 2022

    Today’s coping tip is to remind yourself that you are enough just as you are.

    This is interesting, as I’m not satisfied with who I am today. I’m not enough. I need to drop some weight, I need to build more muscle and cardio fitness. I need to learn more to be better at my job. I need to spend more time with my wife and kids.

    There’s more.

    However, I also am good enough at most everything right now. I can’t complain as I’m doing well in life and I am happy about where I am.

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQL Server Central newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

  • Registered for the Data Community Summit

    I was reminded this week that I needed to get registered for the Data Community Summit 2022 since I’m speaking. I also needed a hotel, so I took some time this week and got my flights, hotel, and conference booked.

    Register for the Data Community Summit today and come join the largest data platform conference in the world. Use the discount code “SJSUMMIT93” for $200 off the 3 day conference in person. Or use “SJONLINE93” for 50% off the virtual conference.

    This is a great chance to meet with other professionals, network, hear about their innovative and inspiring solutions, and get excited about your career. I’ve been lucky enough to attend many Summits in the past and I’m looking forward to this one.

    I’ve got a discount code for the online

    I’m a part of the Cloud learning pathway and have a few other sessions as well. I also have a Tuesday pre-con focused on Redgate technology, so if you’re a customer (or want to be), come to the pre-con and learn how to implement database DevOps.

    A few other sessions I hope I can get into my schedule:

    There are many more in the schedule, and I know there will be hard choices to make. There always are, though you can get recordings and access later to recordings.

    I hope to see some of you there. Please feel free to stop me if you come and shake my hand, say hi, and chat for a moment.

    Register today and use these codes for discounts:

    • SJONLINE93 – 50% off the virtual conference
    • SJSUMMIT93 – $200 off the in-person event in Seattle.

  • Daily Coping 5 Oct 2022

    Today’s coping tip is to choose to see your mistakes as steps to help you learn.

    I preach this with the kids I coach. Mistakes will happen, but let’s learn and grow from them and don’t dwell on them as failures.

    I make mistakes regularly. I typo things, I have mis-written something and needed to issue a correction to an article. I’ve published things that were plagiarized and sent apologies after pulling them.

    These things have taught me to slow down, double check my work, and accept responsibility. At work, I have learned that when working with sales, I need to be a little more cautious about how I present something. I’ve learned to be cognizant of different peoples’ roles and how changes affect them. Or even how proposals might affect their job.

    Each time I type something incorrect, or I offend/upset someone, or even when I might do something else wrong, I don’t get too upset, and I don’t say I’ll never do it again. Instead, I usually take a few minutes and try to think about how I might prevent this again in the future.

    It’s a good way to learn how to change habits and possibly prevent mistakes.

    I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQL Server Central newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.