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Category: Self-Promotion

Issues and Projects in GitHub

Published 2024-03-13 by Kevin Feasel

I have a new video:

In this video, we take a look at what GitHub has for project management, reviewing GitHub Projects and Issues.

The upshot is that GitHub has a fair amount of capability for project management. Its notion of Issues definitely feels fairly well fleshed out, which makes sense considering GitHub’s original purpose as a storehouse for open-source code repositories. By contrast, Projects are a relatively new feature and there’s still some room to grow there, especially if you’re used to project management tools like Jira or Trello.

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Black Screens in New Microsoft Teams

Published 2024-02-27 by Kevin Feasel

I found a solution to an annoying problem:

After updating to the new Microsoft Teams, I could see my camera in the preview screen, but when I was in a meeting, I’d only see a black rectangle as myself. Other people mentioned that they could see me, though sometimes my video would drop off. Also, I was unable to see anybody else’s camera feed, nor could I see when people shared their screens.

Read on for the cause and solution that worked for me.

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Transactional Replication in SQL Server on Linux

Published 2024-02-21 by Kevin Feasel

I finish up a series on SQL Server on Linux:

In this video, we will briefly cover the various forms of replication available in SQL Server, as well as what is in SQL Server on Linux. Then, we will create a simple publication and subscription using T-SQL.

As I joke about in the video, this is the video I expect to get the least traction on, if only because DBAs tend to run away from replication. If I were 20% more inclined toward Quixotic endeavors, I’d create an entire series on replication and show that it’s not magic and it’s only 70% as painful as most DBAs think, and even that’s because there’s a relatively limited amount of information out there on how things work.

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Database Normalization: Abnormal Forms

Published 2023-11-16 by Kevin Feasel

I draw the logical conclusion: the opposite of normal forms is, of course, abnormal forms:

This video covers a variety of topics, effectively wrapping up the series on normalization. We look at data warehousing, including why the Kimball-style star schema is a really bad design in theory but a perfectly reasonably design in practice. We cover the chimera of “overnormalization” and I throw out a hot take. And we finally slag on denormalization.

Click through for the video.

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The Utility of 6th Normal Form

Published 2023-11-08 by Kevin Feasel

I have a new video:

In this video, explain what Sixth Normal Form (6NF) is and why it slots in as the third most-important normal form. We look at two separate use cases in which 6NF can make sense and I provide some guidance on when 5NF is good enough versus when 6NF is better.

6th Normal Form doesn’t necessarily make sense all the time, but there are some really good use cases for it.

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Embrace the Power of 5th Normal Form

Published 2023-10-25 by Kevin Feasel

I have a new video up:

In this video, we drill into the other most important normal form, learning what Fifth Normal Form (5NF) is, why Boyce-Codd Normal Form is not enough, and examples of why 5NF can be such a challenge to implement.

Until I read CJ Date’s Database Design and Relational Theory (2nd edition), my level of appreciation for 5th Normal Form was somewhat limited, but that’s mostly because I didn’t understand it well at all. I liked the connection trap example in this article, but Date’s book was the first really good explanation of 5NF and just how powerful it is. My hope is that I was successfully able to convey that power to audiences.

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A Primer on Boyce-Codd Normal Form

Published 2023-10-18 by Kevin Feasel

I have a new video:

In this video, we drill into one of the two most important normal forms, learning what Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF) is, how you can get to BCNF, and a practical example of it. We also learn why I cast so much shade on 2nd and 3rd Normal Forms.

Boyce-Codd Normal Form is one of the two most important normal forms, and I’m pretty happy with the way this video came together to explain how you can get from 1NF into BCNF, as well as the specific benefits this provides.

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PolyBase and Excel

Published 2020-02-21 by Kevin Feasel

I have a post on setting up PolyBase to work with Microsoft Excel:

If you tried to use Microsoft’s Excel driver prior to 2019 CU2, you’d get the following error:

Msg 105082, Level 16, State 1, Line LineNumber
105082;Generic ODBC error: [Microsoft][ODBC Excel Driver]Optional feature not implemented

To this point, I recommended in PolyBase Revealed that you use a different driver, like CData’s, which did work. CData’s driver still works (I assume…PolyBase ODBC support is a fluid situation, it seems), but now I can officially say that PolyBase supports the Microsoft Access Database Engine Redistributable driver for Microsoft Excel. Let’s go to the tape.

Click through for the instructions.

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