Voice of the DBA

Category: Editorial

  • The Importance of Thick Clients

    I’ve used a number of clients with SQL Server across the last 30 years. I worked early on with the command line and isql (now SQLCMD and soon Go-SQLCMD). That was handy with DOS and Windows 3.1. However, I soon moved to GUI tools and spent years in ISQL/W,  which was how I ran Query Analyzer. Enterprise Manager was the next evolution, though I used Rapid SQL for awhile to get offline query work while on a plane. This was handy for me in documenting and commenting code without a server. Amazing to think I used to work without a SQL instance on my laptop.

    SSMS (Management Studio) has become the de facto way I’ve written queries for over a decade. Microsoft has tried to push people to Azure Data Studio (ADS), but I don’t see a lot of people moving to it. It’s fast, but also, not attractive, at least not to me.

    I saw a post recently from Chris Webb, asking if it was possible to do all one’s development in the Power BI Web interface. He asks the question since lots of BI people have Macs and you can’t run Power BI Desktop on MacOS. That’s one reason why ADS was created, to provide a cross-platform tool. Chris says the web isn’t quite up to snuff, though it’s been improving. So for now, you need Windows.

    I feel the same way. I do wish SSMS was available cross-platform. When I had a MacBook, I constantly had a Windows VM running to get to SSMS and SQL Server. These days I could run a Linux version of SQL Server on MacOS (or a container), but not SSMS. I could run ADS, but I don’t love it.

    I’m not completely sure why ADS bothers me, but I think a big reason is the familiarity of a thick client and Windows GUI controls. I always felt many of the Linux GUI elements feel like cheap imitations of their Windows counterparts. The smoothness of the Win32 applications, the way that grid results come across, the rendering of text, smooth menus, etc. run is just better. Even when it’s not great, it’s better.

    I like the thick Windows clients.

    I do think there are some nice Electron-based apps that look and work well in Windows and Linux. In fact, Redgate’s own direction has been Flyway Desktop rather than continuing to insist on SSMS, precisely because we find more and more customers aren’t standardized on Windows. This is especially true for RDBMSs other than SQL Server. That UI looks pretty good, though admittedly, I’m not writing queries.

    Especially in SSMS, the way a thick client works is much better than ADS. Especially with SQL Prompt. Intellisense in ADS leaves a lot to be desired and the constant need for me to use the command palette for things is annoying. Give me menu items and better shortcuts. I’m not sure why I don’t think it works as well, but it doesn’t. Not for me.

    I wonder how many of you feel the same way. I know some people love DataGrip, but that is often because they work cross-platform or they are full-stack people that like Rider for their other work.

    I do like VS Code, but I’m almost always just writing code, not looking at results or managing a server instance. When I look at other platform tools, MySQL Workbench,  pgAdmin, SQL Developer, I see why SQL Server and SSMS are preferred by many. Those tools are just poorly built compared to SSMS.

    What do you think? I know many of us dislike things about SSMS, but still find it indispensable for daily work. Do you love/hate SSMS or have you found another tool that works well for you?

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.

  • Advice To Be a Better Person

    As a hobby, I coach volleyball for kids. Each year I meet new kids and parents and talk about my philosophy. Part of that is that I teach skills, athletics, how to compete, and more. However, I do emphasize as well that I’m trying to build better people, not just athletes. I want these kids to be better prepared for life, for job interviews, for future teachers and coaches, and for better relationships.

    While I’m not perfect, or maybe not even a great person, I do try to improve myself on a regular basis. Or at least learn to be a better person to others. This isn’t because of any ideal or goal, but because life is more fun when I have more skills. Whether that’s working with objects or interacting with people. The smoother things go, the more I enjoy the world.

    I ran across some advice from Kevin Kelly, who helped co-found Wired Magazine. He wrote down 68 pieces of advice for his children on his 68th birthday. A few of them are in this post, though he’s written a book with 450 pieces of advice. A few more items are in his post of 99 pieces, and 103 pieces.

    The advice is about career, life, and more. Some of the more interesting ones I saw are listed below, with my comments:

    • About 99% of the time, the right time is right now – I struggle with this, but as I think about it, it’s been often true
    • Don’t keep making the same mistakes; try to make new mistakes. – I certainly aim for this. I hate making the same mistakes
    • If you stop to listen to a musician or street performer for more than a minute, you owe them a dollar. – I love seeing street musicians and I carry dollars/euros/pounds and more I can give out.
    • If you have any doubt at all about being able to carry a load in one trip, do yourself a huge favor and make two trips. – I find doing this means I drop less things. Not doing this means I drop more.
    • Recipe for success: under-promise and over-deliver. – Often my mantra at work
    • It’s not an apology if it comes with an excuse. It is not a compliment if it comes with a request. – This is hard, but I’ve been working on this.
    • Learn how to learn from those you disagree with, or even offend you. See if you can find the truth in what they believe. – Important in today’s world
    • Being able to listen well is a superpower. While listening to someone you love keep asking them “Is there more?”, until there is no more. – I need to do this more

    I grabbed his book, and you can as well. However, I might also suggest you collect your own words of wisdom and advice that you can share with your own loved ones at some point.

    If you want to see Mr. Kelly speak his advice, watch this video.

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.

  • Republish: The New Data Warehouse Choice

    Data warehousing has changed a lot in my 30+ years of working with data. With Microsoft Fabric, this editorial might be more interesting to read and reflect on how the world has changed.

    I’m on holiday today with my wife in Amsterdam, so you get to read: The New Data Warehouse Choice

  • The Team You Want

    Brent wrote about what a good DBA looks like and challenged people to write a testimonial for them. There are some great comments on the post, and some funny ones. It’s worth a read when you need a break from other work. I especially chuckled at the picture Brent used. I think ours was better.

    That got me thinking: what do I want in a team? Or maybe, who do I want in a team?

    I have a great team now, but we are fairly distributed and work independently. I have great co-workers at Redgate, though I don’t often work that closely with any of them. I work often with some of them, for specific things, but usually it’s coordination rather than the tight, back and forth I’ve often had with technical teams.

    I realized at some point in my career that I was often being asked to do the same work. I needed to manage systems. I needed to write and tune queries (or rewrite those for others). I needed to manage security. Most importantly, I needed to find solutions to the constant set of questions, problems, and demands from others in my organization. I learned how to teach myself things, how to research, how to test, and how to talk to others. I became good at clarifying what people needed and then finding a way to meet those needs. I think I turned into part of the Incredible DBA Team, even though often it was a team of just me.

    The characteristics Brent talked about were important to me.

    A little. I have always felt that I could work with others if they want to learn from me and teach me things. They have to want to collaborate and get things done as a team. That led me to worry more about who I worked with than what the job was. If the compensation was good, then the decision to take a job often came down to who would I work with. After all, the work was often very similar.

    Think about your situation. What do you want to see in your coworkers? I’m sure you want people that you get along with and carry their weight. Maybe you want to learn from them. Maybe you want to be able to teach them. Maybe you have specific skills you wish were stronger on your team.

    Leave a comment and let us know what your ideal team looks like. As always, if you want to leave an anonymous comment, send me a PM on the site with what you’d like posted in the discussion.

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Stitcher, Spotify, or iTunes.