Good database design is extremely important if you want to have a database that performs well and is easily modifiable. How many times did you have to go back and change countless lines of code because your database was not normalized and it was not easy to add another payment type to the existing database? This is where Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation comes in; in the first couple of chapters you are taught how to design a database in a normal form. Most books that deal with database design are dry and boring; you need to read a chapter several times to digest the information leaving you with a headache. Not this book, Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation makes this almost fun, the author goes through the phases of database design in a fun way which is understandable to the common man

Here we are with another fascinating episode of the SQL Friday, The Best SQL Server Links Of The Past Week show. I can’t believe it is week 10 already, if I continue like this I will be retired soon…..or just tired without the re prefix. Here is what I found interesting this past week in SQL Land: Shrinking is a popular topic… Mike explains some concepts about shrinking and the transaction log

Most developers know that indexes can help speed up your queries, but what happens if you are getting nice index seeks and the performance is still not acceptable? In some cases, a covering index can improve your performance tremendously. This blog will help you identify what the covering index should be and how to test your query to make sure it is being used. In SQL Server Management Studio, you can see the execution plan by pressing CTRL-M and then run your query. With Query Analyzer, use CTRL-K. After you run the query, you will see a new tab for the execution plan.

Most of the database developers these days don’t work with just one RDBMS, a large percentage will work with at least two of them. SQL In A Nutshell will help you with that, no longer do you have the need for two or more books open at the same time. I asked Kevin Kline if he would be interested in an interview and as you can see he said yes. Denis: Is the book geared towards a beginner/intermediate level user or do you have to be an advanced user to really utilize the information in this book?

I was not really convinced in the past that I should use the Structuremap Automocker for any of my tests. I don’t like using the container in my tests it makes them way to dependent on something not really needed to run the test. Of course I test to see if the container is well configured and if the objects are created by the container when it is well configured (this has saved me several times before). I really only have myself to blame because I didn’t really try it and only suspected what it was doing.

Microsoft has announced that this will be the only beta version of windows 7. They have also announced the different SKUs. Here are the key features for all the different windows 7 versions. Microsoft has created a SKU line-up where each SKU is a superset of the previous SKU. This means that each higher edition SKU will have every feature lower edition SKUs have Windows 7 Starter Broad app and device compatibility with up to 3 concurrent applications

Kaxaml is a lightweight XAML editor that gives you a “split view” so you can see both your XAML and your rendered content (kind of like XamlPad but without the gigabyte of SDK). First watch the video on channel 9 to see what it looks like. Here is what is covered: Robby Ingebretsen came by to explain what Kaxaml is and how it can be useful to you when developing XAML-based applications. Not only does he introduce the tool, but he also touches on some of the lesser known features and add-ins that may be missed on an initial glance.

Microsoft has released the January, 2009 update to the SQL Server 2008 Books Online. You can see the lists of new/updated topics at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd408738.aspx This update is a quarterly rollup where they have also published it in the Microsoft Download Center. You can download it from: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=765433F7-0983-4D7A-B628-0A98145BCB97&displaylang=en

Lets start with the requirements. User enters data of Person User is only allowed to enter LastName and FirstName. User is only allowed 30 characters per field. Fields are not allowed to be empty Seems simple enough. Lets start by creating some unittests to verify the requirements. [Test] public void If_person_LastName_property_sets_and_returns_correct_value() { Person person = new Person(); person.LastName = "Test"; Assert.AreEqual("Test", person.LastName); } [Test] [ExpectedException(ExceptionName = "System.Exception", ExpectedMessage = "The LastName can not be more than 30 characters long")] public void If_person_LastName_property_cannot_be_more_than_30_characters() { Person person = new Person(); person.LastName = "TestTestTestTestTestTestTestTest"; } [Test] [ExpectedException(ExceptionName = "System.Exception", ExpectedMessage = "The LastName can not be empty")] public void If_person_LastName_property_cannot_be_empty() { Person person = new Person(); person.LastName = ""; } [Test] [ExpectedException(ExceptionName = "System.Exception", ExpectedMessage = "The LastName can not be empty")] public void If_person_LastName_property_cannot_be_null() { Person person = new Person(); person.LastName = null; } [Test] public void If_person_FirstName_property_sets_and_returns_correct_value() { Person person = new Person(); person.FirstName = "Test"; Assert.AreEqual("Test", person.FirstName); } [Test] [ExpectedException(ExceptionName = "System.Exception", ExpectedMessage = "The FirstName can not be more than 30 characters long")] public void If_person_FirstName_property_cannot_be_more_than_30_characters() { Person person = new Person(); person.FirstName = "TestTestTestTestTestTestTestTest"; } [Test] [ExpectedException(ExceptionName = "System.Exception", ExpectedMessage = "The FirstName can not be empty")] public void If_person_FirstName_property_cannot_be_empty() { Person person = new Person(); person.FirstName = ""; } [Test] [ExpectedException(ExceptionName = "System.Exception", ExpectedMessage = "The FirstName can not be empty")] public void If_person_FirstName_property_cannot_be_null() { Person person = new Person(); person.FirstName = null; } And hey presto we have a bunch of test that won’t go anywhere ;-). So lets make them red shall we meaning we want the thing to at least compile.

If you try to execute xp_cmdshell on a fresh install of SQL Server 2005 or 2008 you will be greeted with the following message _Server: Msg 15281, Level 16, State 1, Procedure xp_cmdshell, Line 1 SQL Server blocked access to procedure ‘sys.xp_cmdshell’ of component ‘xp_cmdshell’ because this component is turned off as part of the security configuration for this server. A system administrator can enable the use of ‘xp_cmdshell’ by using sp_configure. For more information about enabling ‘xp_cmdshell’, see “Surface Area Configuration” in SQL Server Books Online._