Voice of the DBA

Tag: syndicated

  • A New Use Case for SQL Prompt – Shrinking Code

    I work for Redgate and write about products. I’ve got a series of SQL Prompt posts here on little things I like. SQL Prompt might be my favorite tool.  SQL Prompt will be yours as well if you give it a try.

    I thought this would work, but I wasn’t sure. I saw some code the other day like this:

    DECLARE @char AS CHAR(1); SET @char = NULL; SELECT ISNULL(@char, 0); SELECT COALESCE(@char, 0); SET @char = ‘E‘; SELECT ISNULL(@char, 0); SELECT COALESCE(@char, 0);

    I dropped it into SSMS, and of course, I couldn’t read much of it. I did a quick CTRL+K, CTRL+Y and it looked like this:

    DECLARE @char AS CHAR(1); SET @char = NULL; SELECT ISNULL(@char, 0); SELECT COALESCE(@char, 0); SET @char = ‘E‘; SELECT ISNULL(@char, 0); SELECT COALESCE(@char, 0);

    Yeah, SQL Prompt. In addition to reformatting as I prefer, it removed the extra whitespace.

  • New Blogger Challenge 1 – Adding a Primary Key

    The April Blogger Challenge is from Ed Leighton-Dick and aimed at new bloggers, but anyone is welcome. I’m trying to motivate and cheer people on.

    Primary Keys

    I firmly believe that every table should have a primary key. At least until you have a reason not to have one. If you have a reason, fine, but if you can’t explain it or convince me, then just add a primary key.

    I have tended to build tables like this:

    CREATE TABLE Users
(
  MyID int IDENTITY(1, 1)
, firstname varchar(250)
, lastname varchar(250)
, gender char(1)
, postalcode varchar(12)
, contactphone varchar(12)
);
GO
ALTER TABLE Users ADD PRIMARY KEY (MyID);

    Lately I’ve not liked that as my primary key now has a name like [PK__Users__7131A74146D2BBC1]. I’d rather have a more organized database with a touch more effort.

    The better way to add the key later is like this:

    ALTER TABLE dbo.Users 
  ADD CONSTRAINT pkUsers PRIMARY KEY (MyID);

    This way I can name the key, and I specifically note this is a constraint, and with the PRIMARY KEY option, it’s a unique constraint.

    References

    A few places I searched around to double check myself.

    Quick and Easy Blogging

    This post occurred to me while I was writing some code. I mocked up a table in about 2 minutes, and then ran a quick search on the Internet. Reading a few links was about 10 minutes and then testing the code (including dropping the table and recreating it a few times) was less than 5 minutes. All told, I solidified some knowledge and completed this in about 20 minutes. I also have drafts and ideas from this post for 2 other posts that cover this same topic in a similar way.

    Look for the other posts in the April challenge.

  • Microservices and Databases

    I ran across a post on microservices recently and was intrigued. I always like the idea of loosely coupled, independent items in software. However the idea of microservices causes issues with databases. Here’s the section in the piece by Netflix: Create a separate data store for each microservice.

    I tend to think of microservices is very small, tightly bound components of software. If that’s the case, how can I separate each item in a database? Do I want dozens of databases?

    I got in an argument with a developer a few months ago about this. The developer was sure that having separate databases (or stores) for each component wasn’t an issue. For things like banking and similar transfers, I’m not sure a microservice can be separated safely and still ensure integrity.

    This is a tough concept for architecture, and I need to read more and understand how this could work in practice. I suspect that in places where things could be separate, you could easily use schemas in a database to separate out microservices from each other. If each service includes its own connection information, then using schemas would work and still allow for scale out to other databases if needed.

    This is an area that certainly fits larger scale applications like Netflix and Spotify, but for many of us, our applications seem to be more tightly tied together.

    Or are they?

    Microservices are much like Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), which I think fits many applications. I’m not sure how similar the concepts are, but this is certainly an area I’d like to learn more about.

  • Toshiba Portege Z30 Review

    I saw recently that Grant Fritchey wrote a review of his laptop, the Portege Z30. I had noted Grant’s issues with laptops and waited to see what he got last year before I replaced mine. I actually had the chance to compare his Z30 with my old Lenovo T430 in Washington DC and was impressed.

    With my old machine randomly failing, I decided to duplicate Grant’s efforts and get the same model. I figured we could support each other, and any issues one of us had, the IT department at Red Gate would gain knowledge as well.

    Size and Shape

    I used to have a MacBook Air and was thinking to go back to one, but since it wasn’t updated to contain 16GB, I couldn’t. I considered a MacBook pro, but they are a bit heavy, and the Z30 was fairly light. Here’s a shot of it.

    Photo Mar 30, 11 07 23 AM

    It’s definitely thicker and heavier than the Air, but it’s thinner and lighter than my Lenovo, so that’s nice. This is actually the test I use for laptops:

    Photo Mar 30, 11 07 34 AM

    Since I’m on the go, and I can be getting on and off podiums, I need to be able to easily carry this one handed. Not that I always do, but I want to. I can’t do this with a MacBook Pro and it was hard with the Lenovo. Here it seems to be OK.

    The construction is metal and fairly solid. Not a lot of flex. The thin frame with rounded corners also easily slips in and out of my Everki bag, something that wasn’t the case with the Lenovo.

    Keyboard

    I think the keyboard is important and I wished I’d spent a bit more time on Grant’s. It’s loud, There’s a noticeable clacking when I type and the travel isn’t great. I’m not sure what to make of it. It’s mildly annoying to me, but not overly so.

    the layout is good. Better than the Lenovo or Air for me. That’s the key, it’s better for me.

    Photo Mar 30, 11 20 23 AM

    I used the arrow keys a lot when demoing and having them separate is good. The Lenovo surrounded them with Page Up/Down, which forever caused me issues. Backspace/delete as well placed for me and I’ve easily learned where they are.

    Backlighting is automatic, as you type. Slightly annoying when I need to start typing in dim space, but I can hit a key and then backspace and be fine.

    The trackpad is too large for me. My palms always hit it, so I’ve disabled it. I use the pointed (blue button in the middle) exclusively, which is OK. I haven’t gotten it tuned well for my use. It’s either too slow or too fast (hence arrow key use). However it works just like the Lenovos.

    The buttons, however, on the trackpad feel cheap. They travel and click too much. We’ll see how they wear over time.

    Screen

    The screen is pretty nice. I didn’t notice this as being amazing, as I did with a few cell phones, but it does look good. It handles bright sunlight fairly well, and I haven’t add brightness issues during indoor use. You can get specs from the Toshiba site.

    It’s a 13" screen, which works for me. The resolution is fairly good, but I’m not too picky here so you’ll have to make your own judgment.

    I will say that I like the touch screen. I do a lot of reading and scrolling around, and I’ve found it handy to reach up with my right hand and scroll while I’m holding the laptop with the left hand. I don’t use it to select or press buttons often, especially as edit boxes often bring up the on screen keyboard. That’s really annoying.

    On the upside, I can use VGA or HDMI as outs to a screen.

    Ports

    I present with my laptop, so having a few USB ports is a must. The new Air with one port doesn’t even come close for me. I often need two USB ports for a mouse and my presentation device, plus power. Plus display.

    This is a good laptop for me. It has two USB-3 ports on the right side and 1 on the left. That allows me to move an adapter depending on where I’m presenting. This also has a hard Ethernet port, which has saved me in a few hotels or venues where the wi-fi didn’t work. Not a big deal, but nice.

    All ports are on the sides. Nothing in back.

    Power

    This is one of the big things for me. We have a power brick, but it’s tiny. It’s light. It’s a few ounces, which is amazing after the larger ones that I’ve had. It’s probably lighter than the Air adapter, though it’s still the power cord plugs into the adapter, which plugs into the laptop.

    One thing I’ll note is I forgot my adapter in Europe and had to buy a new one. A generic one, putting out the 19V worked fine. Nice to know I can easily find one, and now I have a US and UK adapter, which suits my work.

    Overall

    I’ve been using the laptop for about three months now, and it’s one of the better machines I’ve owned. The keyboard and mouse buttons are the only downsides for me. The i5 and 16GB of RAM perform great. The SSD has been fast, and I can hook up an external when I need it and still have my two ports free for other use.

    I’d have to say I’d recommend this if you need 16GB of RAM. If you can get by with less, I think you have some other choices in the ultrabook range that I’d look at.