Voice of the DBA

Category: Blog

  • FileTable– Using GetParent for Inserts

    In a previous post, I looked at the ways in which I could insert files into a Filetable folder programmatically. I used a NEWID() generation process, which mimics the constraint that is coded in the Filetable schema. However there was a comment asking if I could, or rather would, use the HierarchyID methods. It was on my list to investigate, so here it is.

    I have a file, actually an image, that looks like this:

    circle

    It’s a circle image, and the insert statement actually looks like this:

    INSERT  INTO dbo.Pictures
        ( name
        , file_stream
        )
VALUES  ( 'circle.jpg'
        , 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
        );

    That puts the file in my Filetable in the root. However suppose I actually wanted that in a folder. Here’s my Filetable share and you’ll note I have a folder called Shapes.

    filetable_zb

    Can I insert this file directly in there, using T-SQL? Let’s try.

    I wrote some code that would get the parent path and use that with GetDescendent(). However that didn’t work. I ran this:

    DECLARE @parent HIERARCHYID, @node HIERARCHYID
SELECT @parent = path_locator 
 FROM dbo.Pictures
 WHERE name = 'Shapes';

SELECT @node = max(path_locator)
 FROM dbo.Pictures
 WHERE path_locator.GetAncestor(1) = @parent

SELECT @parent, @node;


INSERT  INTO dbo.Pictures
        ( name
        , file_stream
        , path_locator
        )
VALUES  ( 'circle.jpg'
        , 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
        , @parent.GetDescendent(@node,NULL)
        );

    and got this:

    Msg 6506, Level 16, State 10, Line 20

    Could not find method ‘GetDescendent’ for type ‘Microsoft.SqlServer.Types.SqlHierarchyId’ in assembly ‘Microsoft.SqlServer.Types’

    I found a note on StackOverflow that the implementation of the hierarchyID in a Filetable isn’t the same as elsewhere. I’m not sure if that’s the case, but I haven’t been able to document it.

    However I decided to then try the method proposed as a comment in my last post. Insert, and then move.

    DECLARE @id TABLE ( id UNIQUEIDENTIFIER )
DECLARE @streamid UNIQUEIDENTIFIER
  , @parentpath HIERARCHYID
  , @folder VARCHAR(1000);

SELECT  @folder = 'Shapes';

INSERT  INTO dbo.Pictures
        ( name
        , file_stream
        )
OUTPUT  inserted.stream_id
        INTO @id
VALUES  ( 'circle.jpg'
        , 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
        );

SELECT  @streamID = id
FROM    @id
SELECT  @parentpath = path_locator
FROM    dbo.Pictures
WHERE   name = @folder

UPDATE  dbo.Pictures
SET     path_locator = path_locator.GetReparentedValue(hierarchyid::GetRoot(),
                                                       @ParentPath)
WHERE   stream_id = @StreamId

     

    In this code, I insert the file, but save the PK, the streamID using the OUTPUT clause. From there, I get the path of the folder, and then I use the GetReparentedValue function to move the file to the folder.

    That works fine, and I look in my folder after running this and see the file.

    filetable_zc

    I’m not sure what the difference with the hierarchyIDs is with a Filetable, or why operations on Filetable structures cause errors with some functions, but this seems to work and is likely a better way to handle any of your T-SQL manipulations with Filetable data.

  • Sabbatical–Not the Flagpole I remembered

    My employer, Red Gate Software, offers a sabbatical to their employees, and this year I’m taking mine. I’ll be gone from June 2 – July 14, away from work, but I’ll be blogging here about my experience.

    I finally got my DVD and drawing for the flagpole.

    Photo May 12, 9 34 52 PM

     

    I saw down and watched it one day, just out of curiosity. It was some of what I remembered, but some I didn’t and I learned a few things. One was that the base, which I was thinking was a 4×4 base sticking up, isn’t what Norm used. I must have confused this with another article I read, because this is a metal one.

    That’s a decision I’ll have to make. I wasn’t planning on welding a base together, though I have a fairly expert friend that I’m sure would help me get that done. It’s tempting to expand on the sabbatical and add on some metal skills. I think some of this will depend on how quickly I get the basic pole built. Once I have the thing glued up and square, I can then measure for the base and plan. No matter what I choose, I want to get it into the ground and cemented before the end of June.

    I guess that leads me to the next step, getting a plan together.

    Most of the rest of the DVD made sense and was what I remembered. I’ll need to build some sawhorses and get a space prepped to work. I’m thinking in front of the garage, just to the side of where I’ll pull out with the car. That would let me easily access tools and power, and also be convenient. I could also easily cover things with a tarp if needed.

  • Sabbatical Flagpole

    My employer, Red Gate Software, offers a sabbatical to their employees, and this year I’m taking mine. I’ll be gone from June 2 – July 14, away from work, but I’ll be blogging here about my experience.

    When I wrote about my sabbatical decisions, I was excited to get moving. However I still had plenty of other work to do, and with a few other commitments, I was slow to get started. Last week I documented my college progress for step 1. This week, I’m looking at my third item, and independent project.

    I want to build a flagpole. Years ago I saw an episode of The New Yankee Workshop where Norm Abrams built a flagpole. I thought it was neat, and I’ve wanted to build one. Around that time we moved to my current house, which had an aluminum flagpole, and it didn’t seem like I needed to build another one, but times have changed.

    A few years ago my flagpole broke in the wind. I’d added a small aerometer to the top, and I think that was just enough weight to cause it to snap in a high wind storm. Since then, I haven’t replaced it, thinking I’ll build a pole one summer. This is that summer.

    Surprisingly I didn’t find much online about building a flagpole, so I decided to order the plans from The New Yankee Workshop. I did that recently, and once they arrive, I’ll start getting supplies ready for my project.

  • Powershell Tips–PSEdit

    I got this from watching a session from Jeffrey Snover at TechEd. It was a neat trick, and it’s worked better than what I used to do.

    Editing files

    Suppose I have the ISE open and I want to edit a file. I could easily do this:

    psedit_a

    Click File –> Open, or click the open Folder button, and get a dialog to open a file. I stopped doing that soon after I began playing with PowerShell because I was typing most of the time, and it was easier to do this:

    psedit_b

    Just type notepad and the filename, whether it exists or not, and have notepad open up. However working with notepad isn’t great because you lose intellisense and some of the other nice ISE features.

    However today I saw this. Type psedit and a file (it has to exist).

    psedit  attachdbs.ps1

    And I see the file open above.

    psedit_c

    Very cool.

    Of course, as I mentioned, the file needs to exist. If it doesn’t, then a CTRL+N will get you a new file, which you can save and then easily open from the command line the next time.