ToyboxCreations

Quick Update

Shannon Lowder — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:07:40 +0000

I'm currently working on a batch of 12 articles that will fill in details on the study guides I've published over the last week. These articles are all a part of the training I've being putting myself through to take the 70-433 at the end of this month.

Heh.

Considering how busy I've been between work, getting ready for the reception, and my other side projects, I'm pretty happy to say I'm making great progress on creating these study materials. I've also had a few requests to form a study group. If you're interested in joining the group, please let me know. Our next meeting is scheduled for Thursday next week. The plan is to cover the materials I'm finishing up now, and go through them... hopefully I'll find ways of improving them before releasing them on the site.

If you have any other questions, send them in! I'm here to help!

Microsoft Exam 70-433 (part 7)

Shannon Lowder — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 04:00:08 +0000

I'm putting together a new series to cover the materials you'll need to know in order to pass the 70-433. Microsoft's exam that covers Database Development using Microsoft SQL Server 2008. I'm going to list the topics covered in several posts, each one will include links to details to those topics. If you have any questions, let me know!

Gathering Performance Information (11 percent)

Capture execution plans.
This objective may include but is not limited to: graphical execution plans; SHOWPLAN
Gather trace information by using the SQL Server Profiler.
Collect output from the Database Engine Tuning Advisor.
This objective may include but is not limited to: prepare a workload
Collect information from system metadata.
This objective may include but is not limited to: Dynamic Management Views (DMVs), catalog views

Microsoft Exam 70-433 (part 6)

Shannon Lowder — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 04:00:35 +0000

Working with XML Data (12 percent)

Retrieve relational data as XML.
This objective may include but is not limited to: FOR XML
Transform XML data into relational data.
This objective may include but is not limited to: OPENXML, sp_xml_preparedocument, sp_xml_removedocument
Query XML data.
This objective may include but is not limited to: XQUERY, XPATH
Manage XML data.
This objective may include but is not limited to: XML datatype, XML indexes, XML schema collections

Microsoft Exam 70-433 (part 5)

Shannon Lowder — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:00:01 +0000

Working with Additional SQL Server Components (11 percent)

Integrate Database Mail.
Implement full-text search.
This objective may include but is not limited to: CONTAINS, CONTAINSTABLE, FREETEXT, FREETEXTTABLE, STOPLIST
Implement scripts by using Windows PowerShell and SQL Server Management Objects (SMOs).
This objective may include but is not limited to: cmdlets
Implement Service Broker solutions.
This objective may include but is not limited to: services, queues, messages, message types, message validation, contracts, activation procedures
Track data changes.
This objective may include but is not limited to: change tracking; database audit specification; CHANGETABLE

Microsoft Exam 70-433 (part 4)

Shannon Lowder — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 04:00:27 +0000

Applying Additional Query Techniques (15 percent)

Implement subqueries.
This objective may include but is not limited to: simple, correlated, scalar, list, table valued
Implement CTE (common table expression) queries.
This objective may include but is not limited to: recursive, non-recursive
Apply ranking functions.
This objective may include but is not limited to: RANK, PARTITION BY, DENSE_RANK, OVER, ROW_NUMBER, NTILE
Control execution plans.
This objective may include but is not limited to: table hints, query hints
Manage international considerations.
This objective may include but is not limited to: collations, defining custom errors, filtering data, sort order, nvarchar, database collation, column collation

Microsoft Exam 70-433 (part 3)

Shannon Lowder — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 04:00:47 +0000

Working with Query Fundamentals (21 percent)

Query data by using SELECT statements.
This objective may include but is not limited to: LIKE, WHERE, ORDER BY, INTO
Modify data by using INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements.
This objective may include but is not limited to: row constructors, DELETE FROM FROM, UPDATE FROM, TRUNCATE TABLE
Return data by using the OUTPUT clause.
This objective may include but is not limited to: INSERTED, DELETED, INTO
Modify data by using MERGE statements.
This objective may include but is not limited to: INSERTED, DELETED, OUTPUT
Implement aggregate queries.
This objective may include but is not limited to: built-in aggregate functions, GROUPING SETS, GROUP BY, HAVING
Combine datasets.
This objective may include but is not limited to: CROSS APPLY, OUTER APPLY, all join types; UNION, UNION ALL, INTERSECT, EXCEPT
Apply built-in scalar functions.
This objective may include but is not limited to: CAST and CONVERT; REPLACE; LEN and DATALENGTH; PATINDEX and CHARINDEX

Microsoft Exam 70-433 (part 2)

Shannon Lowder — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:55:31 +0000

Implementing Programming Objects (16 percent)

Create and alter stored procedures.
This objective may include but is not limited to: table-valued parameters (TVPs), EXECUTE AS, RECOMPILE, parameter direction (output); WITH ENCRYPTION; manage permissions (GRANT, DENY, REVOKE)
Create and alter user-defined functions (UDFs).
This objective may include but is not limited to: WITH SCHEMABINDING, EXECUTE AS; manage permissions(GRANT, DENY, REVOKE)
Create and alter DML triggers.
This objective may include but is not limited to: INSERTED, DELETED, INSTEAD OF, EXECUTE AS
Create and alter DDL triggers.
This objective may include but is not limited to: enabling/disabling; return event data
Create and deploy CLR-based objects.
This objective may include but is not limited to: permission sets (SAFE, UNSAFE, EXTERNAL_ACCESS), SET TRUSTWORTHY
Implement error handling.
This objective may include but is not limited to: TRY/CATCH, RAISERROR, retrieving error information, custom error messages, @@ERROR
Manage transactions.
This objective may include but is not limited to: BEGIN TRANSACTION, COMMIT, ROLLBACK, SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL

Microsoft Exam 70-433

Shannon Lowder — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:25:27 +0000

The first topic covered is Implementing Tables and Views and makes up approximately 14 percent of the exam.

Create and alter tables.
This objective may include but is not limited to: computed and persisted columns; schemas; scripts to deploy changes to multiple environments (for example: development, test, production); manage permissions (GRANT, DENY, REVOKE)
Create and alter views.
This objective may include but is not limited to: WITH ENCRYPTION; WITH SCHEMABINDING; WITH CHECK OPTION; manage permissions (GRANT, DENY, REVOKE)
Create and alter indexes.
This objective may include but is not limited to: filtered, included columns, unique, clustered, non-clustered, FILL FACTOR; CREATE STATISTICS; indexing views
Create and modify constraints.
This objective may include but is not limited to: PRIMARY KEY, FOREIGN KEY, UNIQUE, CHECK, cascading referential integrity, enabling/disabling, NOCHECK; SET IDENTITY_INSERT
Implement data types.
This objective may include but is not limited to: FILESTREAM; spatial, structured, and semi-structured; collations
Implement partitioning solutions.
This objective may include but is not limited to: partitioned tables and indexes (constraints, partition functions, partition schemes, MERGE, SPLIT, SWITCH); distributed partitioned views (constraints, linked servers)

If you have questions on any of these topics, please let me know. I'll build more articles around the questions I receive. That way, as I prepare to finally take my Certification Exams, you'll be able to learn from it! It's win-win!

Best Practices for Building Reliable SQL Azure Database Client Applications

Shannon Lowder — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:21:52 +0000

Valery Mizonov has published a paper on SQLCAT, called “Best Practices for Building Reliable SQL Azure Database Client Applications”. The paper discusses his sub-classing of the ADO.NET classes like SqlConnection to handle the retry scenarios associated with SQL Azure. The code is a great stepping-stone; replacing the standard ADO.NET calls with his custom classes. Read the article and download the code here.

The Days Are Just Packed

Shannon Lowder — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:07:02 +0000

Hopefully you recognize the reference in the title.

But really, the days are packed! This weekend was no exception. After work I took out 4 bushes from behind the house. They were seriously taking over the place. When that was finished, I had a pile out front 10 feet long, 3 foot deep, and as tall as me in the middle. These bushes were huge!

After that, I picked up dad's Red Velvet Ice Cream Cake from Brusters, then ran it over to mom and dad's to store until Saturday.

Saturday I was up bright and early, painting dad's new storage building. We finished that up around noon, and then it was on to Grilling duties! Burgers, hot dogs, and shrimp! We spent the rest of the afternoon with Dad. We always seem to celebrate our holidays the Saturday before the event.

Finally, Sunday, after Church, lunch with the missus and some shopping at Ikea, I built a lego holder for my new iPad, styled after the dodo case.Then, I put up a bluebird house at the mother-in-law's place, where I got into something that had me broken out in hives within minutes!! So, pink, puffy, and tired, I dropped two Benadryl and called it a weekend!

Whew, the days are seriously packed! I hope you enjoyed your weekend! Tell me all about it!