Google Search » Database Underground | Sean McCown » May 2007

May 31, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Software Snobs

TAGS: General Database

I often think about how I got into MS products instead of say Oracle or IBM. It’s actually not all that hard to comprehend. I got into MS the same way most people get into their fields. MS was available to me. When I first started, I was in a very small company, and we had SQL Server 6.0 and Windows and Exchange. I also had full access to MSDN and a group of guys who were experts in MS technologies. So it’s easy, you learn what you have available. Like kids, right? They learn life by watching their parents. They learn what they have access to.
Now, that being said, I always wondered why more companies don’t make their products more available. Take Informatica for instance. I’m not really meaning to pick on them, but they’re just the ones who I’ve had dealings with most recently. The same could be said for IBM, and in some cases these days even MS. You can’t just download Informatica’s products and put them in your lab and learn how to use them. You can’t even get at the documentation unless you’re a customer. What’s that about? Seriously… you’re closing yourself off to an entire section of your market by making yourself so inaccessible. People really don’t like the closed doors in IT anymore. MS has the right idea. They’ve flooded the market with information on their products and they’re very easy to get a hold of. If my boss wants to implement something MS-related, I can easily go to any number of resources and be somewhat of an expert in as much time as it takes me. Let’s take something like Informatica though. You can’t just surf the web and find dozens of resources and read up on it, because the information simply isn’t there. Sure, you can find scatterings here and there, but try to find a book on PowerExchange on Amazon, and then try to find a book on Integration Services and see which one yields more results. The point is simply this… people learn what they have access to, and once you understand that simple rule, it just doesn’t make sense to close off your market like that. Why wouldn’t you want people being able to familiarize themselves with your products? Why wouldn’t you want people to be able to at least get extended trials of your products so they can build that skill set? The more people know about your products, the more likely they are to use them, right?
I recently pulled Hyperion out of my environment and went with SSAS. Why? It’s easy. Because there aren’t nearly as many Hyperion resources out there as there are SSAS. There aren’t nearly as many people who know Hyperion as there are who know SSAS. It’s simple math. I’m setting us up for success because should our Hyperion guy ever leave, we’ve got a much smaller talent pool to choose his replacement from. But if our SSAS guy leaves, I’ve got tons of people to choose from. And I’m not getting into a discussion on the merits of using one over the other, I’m just saying that from a resource standpoint, it’s smarter to go with SSAS. Just like it’s smarter to go with SSIS instead of Informatica. Is Informatica a better product? Well, better is a hard line to walk. It’s certainly older, so it’s more mature, but better? I guess that depends on who you ask. However, I’d go with SSIS any day of the week because of how easy it is to find resources. I can install SSIS on my desktop and play with it and run through scenarios, etc. I can just write the user group and ask any number of several dozen people for advice. I can throw a dart at Monster.com and hit someone with SSIS experience. I can go to Amazon and get books. There are user websites and 3rd party controls. Let’s face it… SSIS is everywhere, and Informatica is a closed members-only club. So what makes a better tool? Again, it all depends on how you look at it. Informatica may be a more mature tool, but nobody’s going to care if they can’t get the information they need to make it work.
MS has kinda fallen off the boat too, and I’m not sure why. See, I usually rely on my MSDN subscription for software. If there’s something I want to play around with, I just download it and put it in my lab and go to town. And there’s usually such a host of learning resources it’s pretty easy to find out what I need. But for some reason, they’ve decided not to put the new OpsMgr(formerly MOM) up for download. You can download a trial, which is better than nothing, but why not MSDN? OpsMgr is part of the new System Center suite, and the other members of SC are up on MSDN, as are the previous versions of MOM. So why not this one? Personally, I fail to see what they gain by closing off their market like that.
Oracle is excellent. You can go to Oracle.com and download anything they sell for free. No time limits, no software keys, nothing. You can download a full copy of their enterprise DB and install it in your lab and play with it till you’re blue. Of course, I’m not making any statements about their license agreement, I’m just saying what’s actually possible. I originally learned Oracle that way. And you just can’t do that with IBM. You can’t just go download Tivoli and run it in your lab (at least I don’t think you can). You have to get sales people involved, get a PO, etc. It’s all just so messy. But with Oracle you can download whatever you like and just go to town. Within the past couple years though, IBM has released a free version of DB2 that you can download, so you can now at least get some of the concepts down. They’re all doing that you know… Oracle, MS, IBM. You can get free versions of their DBs. They won’t be enterprise versions, but at least you can do something. I’m not sure if Sybase does it or not, but it shock me to hear they do.
So all you vendors out there who think you’re too good for everybody, just remember this… if you make it hard enough to learn your product people will stop caring. They’ll go with someone else, and leave you behind. And I know that most of you are doing fine now. Informatica for instance isn’t hurting, I’m sure. But how much better would they be doing if their products were easier to come by, and if there were a whole host of books and training videos, and websites, and whitepapers?
And MS… come on… put OpsMgr on MSDN already. Don’t make me come up there.

Posted by Sean McCown on May 31, 2007 06:53 PM

May 16, 2007 | Comments: (0)

The Great Canteloupe Debacle

TAGS: General Database

Ok, after releasing my TechED Survival Guide the other day, I got this reply from one of my friends at MS.

Shame you’ll not be at TechEd. But at least I am spared the moment where I see you in the audience and recall exactly what you have been doing with the anti-perspirant.

To say the least, I wasn't expecting that, and I spit canteloupe all over my Treo. Good one dude.

Posted by Sean McCown on May 16, 2007 08:21 AM

May 14, 2007 | Comments: (0)

SQL Refactor is still the Bomb!

TAGS: General Database

Quite a few months ago, Red-gate came out with SQLRefactor, a tool that let's you setup templates to organize your SQL code, rename objects, etc. I contacted them about getting a license so I could take a look at it, and they promptly replied. I installed it, and was up and running quickly. And within just a couple mins I had things more or less the way I wanted them and was on my way.

Let me just say, that this is probably the only tool I use on a daily basis that I'm actually grateful to have. There's nothing like seeing your code the exact same way every time, and formatting it for YOUR eyes. I personally think this tool buries Microsoft's tool (Visual Studio Team System for DBAs) for a couple reasons. First, it's a DBA tool, not a developer tool. You have to be running Visual Studio 2005 to use the MS tool, and you only need SSMS for SQLRefactor. See, I'm a DBA, not a developer, so when I go to open code, I open it in SSMS and I work with it like I'm used to working with it. I don't have to go into another program, make all new connections, get used to the way things are done there, startup a project and pick a project location, etc. I can just do what I do and have the functionality I need every day. This is something MS has forgotten I think... how to makes our lives easier. The VSTE tool is fine, and it actually does a lot more than this one, but it's a different type of tool for a different audience. And I think people lose sight of that sometimes.

The 2nd thing that makes SQLRefactor better than VSTE is the price. At $5,000 VSTE is pretty hard to get by your boss... especially for something that's not going to actually provide any extra benefit day to day. And that's one thing I've always liked about Red-Gate... they don't gouge your wallet. I can easily talk my boss into the $200 for buying this product, and like I already said, it'll be far more useful to me as a DBA because it works in SSMS.

Frankly, I have VSTE on my box as well, and I almost never use it. I just don't do that much in VS, so I don't have that great of an occasion to need it all that often.

In short, SQLRefactor is a simple tool. It has a slim list of functionality, but for what it does do, it's actually pretty rich. I use the Lay out SQL feature a lot more than I use the Split Table, but I have also found pretty good uses for Expand Wildcards. What that does is just what it sounds like. It takes a 'select *' and turns it into a column list. Very useful. I also like the Smart Rename. One time I even found myself using the Summarize Script just to make sure that my overall process was correct.

This isn't a full-blown review, and Red-Gate's not paying me, or has even asked me to write about this. I just love the product, and I wanted you guys to know about it in case you haven't heard much about it. I wouldn't exactly say it saves me tons of time every time I use it, but it does make my day just a little more pleasant by allowing me to see things the way I want.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot... another one of my favorite features is the Qualify Object Names. Just before I put something into production, I qualify all the objects in my code with it. Very handy.

There are a couple things I do wish it would do though. I really wish it would take a JOIN statement that doesn't use aliases and create them and then alias the columns. That would be really handy. I also wish it would take an SP with params and turn it into a normal script with declares and sets. That's good for troubleshooting. I also wish it would convert a @table into a #Table and vice versa. Same thing for 'select into' and 'insert into'. I have a few other requests, but let's try to talk them into those first.

Posted by Sean McCown on May 14, 2007 11:37 AM

May 11, 2007 | Comments: (0)

My TechED Survival Guide

TAGS: General Database

OK, with TechED just around the corner, I thought I'd shoot you guys a little list of things you can do to make TechED a little less miserable. It's not that the conference itself is miserable, it's just being out of town for a week, and surrounded by thousands of people and having to stand for hours at a time, etc. It can really take its toll on you.

For starters, I've got a lot of friends at MS and other companies that I only get to see at these conferences, and this is the first year in several that I'm not going to be able to go. I've tried and tried, and I just can't make it. So, I'm passing along some of my conference tricks in the hopes that some of you will find them useful.

So here they are in no particular order:

1. Take an extra suitcase or bag. The guys back at your office who don't get to go, so it's always nice to bring them back something. I always take an extra swag bag so I can pass the goodies out back at the office. It not only makes you popular, but it makes the fact that they didn't get to go easier to take.

2. Ear plugs. Hotels are noisy to say the least, so take some good earplugs. I use them all the time, and they block out all the busy hotel noise like closing doors, kids running downt he hall, etc. They can make your ears a little sore if you're not used to them, but it's a small price to pay to get a good nights sleep. And most alarm clocks will get through them, so you don't have to worry about being late to any sessions.

3. Take 2 pairs of shoes. Take one pair of travel shoes and one pair of conference shoes. The travel shoes are slip-ons so you can easily go through airport security and also slip them off on the plane. The conference shoes have a lot of support and won't be too tight on your feet.

4. Eat well. Try to stay away from all the crap on the tables. Most of it is complete garbage and you don't need to subject yourself to it for an entire week. If you keep your diet more or less unchanged, then you won't have any... let's call them bathroom surprises... you don't want to be spending large amounts of time with stomach aches, etc.

5. This is one of my favorites, and definitely the most useful... Take some spray deodorant... something like Arrid extra dry or the like. Every day before you leave, spray it all over your groin area and your butt, your inner thighs, and up underneath your butt (let's call it the undercarriage). You're going to be doing a lot of walking, and a lot of sitting, and the conference gets hot. This one thing will cut down on the chafing and you'll enjoy yourself much more. Especially in a humid place like Orlando... you guys out there know what I mean, but it's still an excellent tip for girls as well. We do this at home when we're going to spend a whole day at 6-Flags or Scarborough Faire. It's just a tremendous trick and I hope some of you find it as useful as I do.

6. Take a webcam. Your kids will miss you a lot less if they can see you a couple times during the week.

7. They quite often have discounted cert testing, so if you're planning to take an exam, look into doing it there.

8. Spend as much time as you can in the cabana session. The rest of the sessions will be on the DVDs so you can see them anytime, but the cabana talks aren't. They're also run by the MS guys themselves so it's a good time to hear about the featues by the guys who actually wrote them. If you get a chance, lookup my friend Paul Randal, he's a towering gentleman with a cute smile... you'll like him.

9. Hit the exhibit hall early in the week. All the best swag goes pretty fast and you wanna get them while they're still in a good mood. Don't be shy about asking for more than one if it's not big either... just tell them you have guys back at home who couldn't make it.

10. If you want some swag by a vendor and they wanna talk to you about their product and you really don't want to hear it, then just tell them you're not the one at your company who deals with that, but if they give you some info you can take it back and give it to the right guy. This way, they won't bother with you, but you'll still get your goodie.

11. While at the conference, always take a couple extra drinks and snacks for the hotel later. It may not be necessary, but it's nice to know you won't be empty should the midnight snack bug bite you.

12. If you meet a girl you like and things progress, tell her your name is Paul Randal and you're a product manager at MS. Not only will she be impressed, but you won't have to worry about her contacting you after the conference. Just don't let her see your badge... and if she does, tell her you switched badges with your friend as a joke.

13. Stay away from the beanbag raffle. I won a beanbag one year and had to empty it to get it home because I didn't want to pay for shipping. Turns out I would have been better off shipping it because quality beans are pretty expensive. The beanbag is still sitting in a box folded waiting to be filled.

14. Take your own shampoo. I used to rely on the hotel shampoo, but it's too unreliable. Your hair won't look right all week, and we all know how important that is.

15. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS save the best swag for your boss.

OK, I hope someone out there finds this useful. Let me know if you have any additions, and if I get enough, I'll post them.

Ya'll have a good time at TechED without me.

Posted by Sean McCown on May 11, 2007 08:26 AM