DotNetKicks.com : Stories kicked by pinaldave

10 Programming Proverbs Every Developer Should Know

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:01:02 GMT

Proverbs are used to express universal truths or life lessons in a short and memorable fashion. I find that they are a great way to keep things in perspective, both in life and in work. Because of this, I have assembled 10 programming proverbs that every developer needs in their arsenal.

SQL Server 2008 - Cheat Sheet - One Page PDF Download

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:31:02 GMT

Very frequently I have been asked to create a page, post or article where in one page all the important concepts of SQL Server are covered. SQL Server 2008 is very large subject and can not be even covered 1000 of pages. In daily life of DBA there are few commands very frequently used and for novice developers it is good to keep all the important SQL Script and SQL Statements handy. I have attempted to create cheat sheet for SQL Server 2008 most important commands. User can print this in one A4 size page and keep along with them. This can be used in interviews where T-SQL scripts are being asked. Let me know your opinion and if you find this useful. Bookmark it for future use.

SQL SERVER - Guidelines and Coding Standards Complete List Download

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:16:12 GMT

Coding standards and guidelines are very important for any developer on the path of successful career. A coding standard is a set of guidelines, rules and regulations on how to write code. Coding standards should be flexible enough or should take care of the situation where they should not prevent best practices for coding. They are basically the guidelines that one should follow for better understanding. The concept behind implementing coding standards and guidelines, is that the consistency and uniformity in programming so that if multiple people are working on the same code, it becomes easier to communicate, share with or understand each other's work. With the goal of promoting good coding standards and guidelines I have created document which can guide developers.

SQL SERVER - 2008 - Interview Questions and Answers - Download PDF

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:16:04 GMT

Interview is very important event for any person. A good interview leads to good career if candidate is willing to learn. I always enjoy interview questions and answers series. This is my very humble attempt to write SQL Server 2008 interview questions and answers. SQL Server is very large subject and not everything is usually asked in interview. In interview what matters the most is conceptual knowledge and learning attitude. I have listed all the series in this post so that it can be easily downloaded and used. All the questions are collected and listed in one PDF which is here to download. If you have any question or if you want to add to any of the question please send me mail or write a comment. Bookmark this first ever set of interview questions and answers.

Three Rules That ASP.NET Developers Should Know About SEO

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:01:05 GMT

Focuses on three important rules (with code snippets) that ASP.NET developers should follow to do their part of the SEO process.

SQL SERVER - 2008 - Creating Full Text Catalog and Full Text Search

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:16:06 GMT

This is the first ever and complete example for SQL Server 2008 - Full Text Catalog and Full Text Search. Make sure to book mark for future reference.

The Death of Software Engineering

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:31:03 GMT

Why software engineering is fading away.

Introduction to Table-Valued Parameters with Example

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:19:55 GMT

Table-Valued Parameters is a new feature introduced in SQL SERVER 2008. In earlier versions of SQL SERVER it is not possible to pass a table variable in stored procedure as a parameter, but now in SQL SERVER 2008 we can use Table-Valued Parameter to send multiple rows of data to a stored procedure or a function without creating a temporary table or passing so many parameters. This is one feature all the SQL Server developer were waiting for long time. This article explains how it can be used with very simple words.

Introduction to Filtered Index - Improve performance

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:18:36 GMT

Filtered Index is a new feature in SQL SERVER 2008. Filtered Index is used to index a portion of rows in a table that means it applies filter on INDEX which improves query performance, reduce index maintenance costs, and reduce index storage costs compared with full-table indexes. When we see an Index created with some WHERE clause then that is actually a FILTERED INDEX. I am sure this feature will change how the indexes are created in SQL Server.

SQL SERVER - Fix : Error : 40 - could not open a connection to SQL

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:35:52 GMT

Everyday I get lots of question regarding error : An error has occurred while establishing a connection to the server when connecting to SQL server 2005, this failure may be caused by the fact that under default settings SQL server does not allow remote connection. ( provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 - could not open a connection to SQL server. ) This error happens due to many reasons. There are few solutions already given on my original threads.I encourage to read following two articles first and see if you can find your solution. If you can not find any solution from here, I suggest to read additional suggestions listed below in ticket.

SQL SERVER - 2008 - Configure Database Mail - Send Email From SQL Data

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 17:46:02 GMT

First and Complete article of SQL Server 2008 Database Mail configuration. From start to end - Complete article. Bookmark it!

SQL SERVER - Get Date Time in Any Format - UDF - User Defined Function

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:22:25 GMT

If you have struggled with your datetime format with your application or database. This is one script you will need. Bookmark it.

SQL SERVER - 2005 - Difference Between INTERSECT and INNER JOIN

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:46:03 GMT

INTERSECT operator in SQL Server 2005 is used to retrieve the common records from both the left and the right query of the Intersect Operator. INTERSECT operator returns almost same results as INNER JOIN clause many times. When using INTERSECT operator the number and the order of the columns must be the same in all queries as well data type must be compatible. Let us see understand how INTERSECT and INNER JOIN are related.We will be using AdventureWorks database to demonstrate our example.

SQL SERVER - Effect of Order of Join In Query

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:10:04 GMT

Let us try to understand this subject with example. We will use Adventurworks database for this purpose. Table which we will be using are HumanResources.Employee (290 rows), HumanResources.EmployeeDepartmentHistory (296 rows) and HumanResources.Department (16 rows). We will be running following two queries and observe the output. In the resultset the order of first column (EmployeeID) is different in both the cases when whole resultset is same. When compared both the results they are same but the order of rows is different in both the resultset.

SQL Server in One Page - Download it Now

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:01:02 GMT

One of the most popular request I have received on this blog is to create one page which list all the SQL Server FAQs. SQL Server technology is very broad as well very deep. This is my humble attempt to list few of the daily used details in one page. Let me know your opinion and suggestion. Download SQL Server FAQ Sheet in PDF format

SQL SERVER - Is Cursor Database Object or Datatype

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 06:18:50 GMT

What is your opinion about it and why? If you have no opinion then read other readers opinion.

SQL SERVER - Better Performance - LEFT JOIN or NOT IN?

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:16:02 GMT

What do you think? I am sure result will surprise you.

SQL SERVER - 15 Best Practices for Better Database Performance

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 02:01:02 GMT

I have written 14 best practices here, read them all and let me know what is as per your opinion should be the 15th best practice.

SQL SERVER - Simple Puzzle Using Union and Union All

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 04:02:14 GMT

One Simple Puzzle with One Simple Answer - Try it.

SQL SERVER - How to Retrieve TOP and BOTTOM Rows Together using T-SQL

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:31:02 GMT

UNION ALL does not work all the time. There is great discussion about it. If you have any suggestion, please provide it.

SELECT 1 vs SELECT * - An Interesting Observation

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:31:03 GMT

This articles offers one honest fact about SELECT 1 vs SELECT * - however it lacks conclusion - your opinion matters.

UDF to Return a Calendar for Any Date for Any Year

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 17:31:29 GMT

One Short Tutorial, Two UDF, Any Year Calender. Good Use of SQL Server UDF.

SQL Server 2008 Brochure - Download

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 03:25:11 GMT

SQL Server 2008 Brochure is available to download. It contains many information like available Server Editions, Top New Features, New Available Technologies and additional resources.

Import CSV File Into SQL Server Using Bulk Insert - Load Comma Delimit

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 03:46:02 GMT

A short Tutorial - A Perfect Tutorial

Introduction and Explanation to SYNONYM

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:01:16 GMT

DBA have been referencing database objects in four part names. SQL Server 2005 introduces the concept of a synonym. A synonyms is a single-part name which can replace multi part name in SQL Statement. Use of synonyms cuts down typing long multi part server name and can replace it with one synonyms. It also provides an abstractions layer which will protect SQL statement using synonyms from changes in underlying objects (tables etc).