A Fine Slice Of SQL Server
About two decades ago, I introduced the concept of transition constraints to show Data Validation in a database is a lot more complex than seeing if a string parameter really is an integer. In October of 2008, I did an article called Constraint Yourself! on how to use DDL constraints to assure data integrity. One of the topics in that piece was a look at state transition constraints via an auxiliary table.
Read on for an interesting dive into the topic.
Leave a CommentPaul Turley expands beyond the Microsoft ecosystem:
Tableau led the self-service visual reporting revolution and now part of the Salesforce suite, it is bound to continue to have a loyal following and user base. The purpose of this article is not to compare Tableau to Power BI nor to expound on the strengths or perceived weaknesses of either product, but to share my experience and learnings about using Tableau with Microsoft Fabric and Power BI semantic models. I will demonstrate how to use Tableau with a Direct Lake semantic model, a large import mode semantic model and how effectively Tableau works securely with semantic model-based row-level security (RLS).
Read on for Paul’s findings. I do appreciate Paul’s ecumenical approach here. It’s fun to pick your favorite sports team (yay, Team SQL Server!) and razz fans of other teams (boo, Team Oracle!). And given how often I do just that, I can’t begrudge anyone the pleasure. But it’s also good to remember that tools deserve no loyalty except inasmuch as they provide value to you.
Leave a CommentSrdjan Martin has an announcement:
SQL native Scalar user-defined functions (UDFs) in Microsoft Fabric Warehouse and SQL analytics endpoint are now in preview.
A scalar UDF is a custom code implemented in T-SQL that accepts parameters, performs an action such as complex calculation, and returns a result of that action as a single value.
I wonder if the same advice for SQL Server will apply to these: don’t use them because they are performance sinks. Knowing that these are scalar functions, I’d be inclined to do some considerable performance testing before rolling them out.
Leave a CommentKristina Mishra takes us through troubleshooting a problem:
Ah, you’ve setup a deployment pipeline and let your people know it’s ready for them to do the thing. Everything looks fine on your end, so you shoot off a message to the group and go about your busy day. (Nevermind your Test environment was set up 4 months ago, Production 3 days ago, and Development was replaced 2 months ago with a new Development environment because your region changed.) You’ve added all the permission groups to each environment and added your “contributors” as Admin to the deployment pipeline (no comment), so everything should be grand.
Famous last words, indeed.
Leave a CommentSemab Tariq compares two alternatives:
When designing a highly available PostgreSQL cluster, two popular tools often come into the conversation: Pgpool-II and Patroni. Both are widely used in production environments, offer solid performance, and aim to improve resilience and reduce downtime; however, they take different approaches to achieving this goal.
We often get questions during webinars/talks and customer calls about which tool is better suited for production deployments. So, we decided to put together this blog to help you understand the differences and guide you in choosing the right solution based on your specific use case.
Click through for a primer on the topic, followed by some recommendations.
Leave a CommentEd Elliott has some code for us:
I have just finished an update for the spark connect dotnet lib that contains the
DeltaTableimplementation so that we can now use .NET to maintain delta tables, over and above what we get out of the box by usingDataFrame.Write.Format("delta"), this is an example of how to use the delta api from .NET:
Click through for the example, and you can learn more about Spark Connect from the Spark website and Ed has a .NET client for the task.
Leave a CommentKellyn Gorman continues a series on PostgreSQL for Oracle DBAs:
Now that we finished Part 2 on physical data structures, storage and processes, it’s time to work our way into transaction control, locking and just a smidgen of performance insight.
This post is for Oracle DBAs who want to understand PostgreSQL’s transaction and locking mechanics, as well as how to monitor and tune performance without diving into execution plans just yet. Think of this as your quick-reference mental shift guide from Oracle to PostgreSQL.
Read on for some of the differences in the platforms.
Leave a CommentIf you’ve ever opened a product analytics dashboard and scrolled past dozens of unlabeled metrics, charts with no viewers, and events no one can explain—welcome to the world of metric sprawl.
In my roles at a MAANG company and a remittance fintech, I’ve seen product teams obsessed with instrumenting everything: every click, every scroll, every hover, every field. The thinking is, “Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”
But there’s a hidden cost to this mindset. And it’s time we talk about it.
I personally tend toward wanting as much information as possible, though Lenard makes good points around the friction that adds, as well as potential degradations in user experience.
Leave a CommentBoniface Muchendu lets users pick the date:
Many users need the ability to select a single date not a range to filter their entire report. While Power BI’s default slicer shows a long list of dates or uses relative filters like “Today” or “Yesterday,” these options can be limiting.
Additionally, relying on the filter pane often isn’t ideal for dashboards meant for end users, especially when the pane is hidden or locked. An on-screen date picker provides a more intuitive and controlled experience.
Read on to see how.
Leave a CommentMatt Collins shares a deployment guide:
For those who have been following along with our product CF.Cumulus, we have been gearing up for some exciting developments and want to give more power and independence to users. As such, we’re putting together some comprehensive “How-to” guides to simplify the deployment process for Community Edition users.
This deployment guide walks you through setting up CF.Cumulus with the Azure Resources depicted below.
Click through for the guide.
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