Archiving files can be a chore, especially when you want a clear and precise way of telling when the file was archived without having to worry about looking at details like "Last Modified" and such. Not to mention it is often times best practices to have File Names that provide as much detail as possible explaining a strong amount of details. 01Archive.zip, 02Archive.zip, et cetera are not great names as they tell you nothing. Yes it does tell you that this is an Archived file, but when was it a...
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If you've followed my blog at least somewhat, you've probably read a blog post or two where I cover one or several of the really cool features of BI xPress . That's because, simply put, BI xPress is a very versatile and useful tool that no SSIS developer should be without. It pains me to think about all the time I have to waste whenever I go work for a client that does not have BI xPress. With that said, one of the smaller but more useful features of BI xPress that I found myself making use of i...
One of the most powerful aspects of Analysis Services is the ability to easily view your facts over time. What's not always so easy is writing those calculations that make complex time analysis possible. MDX can have a steep learning curve, which is where the BI xPress MDX Calculation Builder by Pragmatic Works steps in. After installing BI xPress, you will very quickly and easily add calculations to your cube without having to write a lick of MDX. To access the MDX Calculation Builder, open BID...
The is nothing like the Pragmatic Works Foundation class to help build full self confidence in T-SQL. I just completed the prestigious Foundation program here in Florida. This has seriously help in my SSIS, SSAS and SSRS. I will advice anyone to please consider getting into the SQL and BI Pragmatic Works Foundation program in FL. http://pragmaticworks.com/foundation/
With some calculated members in MDX it only makes sense to see the calculation if a certain Hierarchy is used. For example: Aggregate(YTD([Date].[Calendar].CurrentMember),[Internet Sales Amount]) This calculation only works in the Date.Calendar Hierarchy. I wanted to show the end users a message informing them about this and hide the calculation at the same time. Here is how I did this: Case when ([Date].[Calendar].level is [Date].[Calendar].[Calendar Year] or [Date].[Calendar].level is [Date].[...
Over the past few blog entries I?ve discussed multiple ways of deploying SSIS packages, including native and 3rd party methods. Each one takes you through some sort of wizard to help you select the proper options for the package. While this is helpful the first time or two you deploy a package to the same server, after a while it tends to be a drag to have to walk through the same steps, and the same configuration over and over. BIxPress has a nice feature that eliminates the need to walk throug...
Remember when you used to have to write your times tables out? You had to because there was no such thing as a pocket calculator. It is sad that I remember that. You would get a piece of lined paper and write 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 horizontally and then vertically and start filling in the products in a grid. Yes that was also before you had to learn the 11 and 12 times table. Well here is an easier way using a recursive CTE. First, I was looking for a way to populate a table with numbers from 1 to...
First of all I'd like to say that it is a breath of fresh air to have an instructor who knows the ins and outs of what they are teaching. Far too many times have I sat in a classroom, high school or college, only to have an instructor teach the subject on the surface. Sherri has done a wonderful job of keeping the classes entertaining (even with a early morning game of Family Feud) while at the same time doing her best to make sure that students do not fall behind. Even though the class moves at...
The Analysis Services Deployment Wizard is an often under utilized but important tool when moving your OLAP database throughout your environment. Often I see developers deploy directly from BIDS to all Development, QA, and Production environment by changing the project properties to the different instances. For multiple reasons this is a bad practice. With a sloppy developer like me I’m likely to accidently deploy to the wrong server. You could unintentionally deploy over Production securi...
Hi All, My name is Sherri McDonald and the instructor for the Pragmatic Works Foundation. When I first started teaching the Foundation class, it was a nice addition to my current responsibilities. As I have facilitated the class for a year now, it is so much more to me than a "nice addition". In a quick elevator speech, our mission is to give new skills to people who have a passion about getting into the technology field. We offer this opportunity for free training to people who have served in t...
For the past two years I have been opening SSIS packages and stored procedures, finding out what in the world was wrong with them by bumping my head. If I couldn't find out what the issue was, I would go down another path and bump my head again until I found the answer. While I gained a lot of experience doing this, as well as a mental database of how to troubleshoot certain issues, I must say that it was not the most practical way. Coming to Pragmatic Works truly has been a blessing. I am learn...
2nd day of T-SQL class. Learned more about joins. Moving on to more reporting tomorrow.
Any of the following Statements will give your current Date and Time: SYSDATETIME() SYSDATETIMEOFFSET() SYSUTCDATETIME() GETDATE() GETUTCDATE(); CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
The Question I misread a question about a table that contains "Parent -> Child" data in the SSRS forums here on BIDN recently and I decided to attempt answering it. I thought it was a question that many of us have no doubt run across before - "how do you show a hierarchy for data when you have a table with "parent" and "child" information listed in the row values? So I thought I'd give it a shot and share my results. Let's get into it Like my math professor always said, "first, make sure you ...
Hello BIDN, Recently I found out that my session to speak at SQL Saturday #86 on November 5th in Tampa, FL has been accepted. In my session we will be covering how to use the new features of SSRS 2008 R2 to build dashboards. So if you’re new to SSRS or are in the area please consider going to this FREE event. If you’re unfamiliar with SQL Saturday please go check it out because you can’t beat FREE training and usually a free meal or two. Here’s the link if you would like ...
Terry Brown How to Fix the Economy or, How One Company is Helping People Look Forward Well, how do we do it? If there were a simple answer to that question, then depressions would be an obsolete phenomenon. Unfortunately, there is not even a consensus as to why the US economy is in a recession in the first place, so the policy prescriptions proposed have been wide ranging. Now I'm certainly not a credentialed economist, so I'm not going to propose any broad policy recommendations. What you're re...
Hello to all that may read this. This is my first time blogging, so please bear with me. Actually, this is a homework assignment. I was chosen/invited to join the October 2011 Pragmatic Works Foundation Class. It's going to be an exciting week and I promise to keep you updated. Today was the first day. We went over some general database information, DBMS and RDBMS. We went into what DBAs do, and then tables, views, stored procedures, indexes, data types, primary & foreign keys, normalization...
I went to Montana back it in the Summer of 2000. The host family I stayed with took us out to some farm land that did not look much different than the photo above. To see that much of the sky from one horizon to another is a site to see, especially compared to Alabama. I started the first day of the Pragmatic Works Foundation Program today. This will be the first time in almost 6 years since I have been in a formal training class. The first day was very interesting. I have mostly read about the ...
Today was my first day of five for training here at Pragmatic Works Foundation in Jacksonville, Fl. This training will consist of Basic Server Knowledge, DBA Skills, Basic T-SQL, Report Writing, and Resume Building. Today, we just went over the basic commands such as SELECT, UPDATE, INSERT, ORDER BY, WILDCARDS, etc. Tommorrow we will continue with T-SQL training. So Far, so Good! Can't wait!
In my previous three posts I detailed the different methods for deploying SSIS packages. While these methods can get the job done, there are some key functionalities missing. For instance you can?t deploy package configurations from any of the native tools in SSIS. This means that after you deploy the package to your QA server you then have to go and move the package configurations to the QA server as well. BIxPress makes it possible to deploy the package and the configur...
After being out of the corporate world for awhile, I decided to take a course sponsored by PragmaticWorks on T-SQL. The course is very informative and I hope to come away with a better skill set to serve me in the near future. The instructor is great and all students are very friendly and willing to help each other. Was not going to sign up but now glad I did.
Hello, It's my first time blogging and just wanted to introduce myself and briefly explain how wonderful the first day of training was. Our instructor Sherri and CEO Brian Night were very welcoming and informative about the foundative, career paths, and the training course. They made the class very easy to follow and I think that is very nice for someone with a non-IT background like myself. I took the w3schools.com quiz and scored 95% on the first day, so I am very excited about the rest of the...
Foundation was wonderful! I Can not wait to finish SSRS and tie it up with my SSIS and SSAS knowledge. Just took the W3Schools SQL Quiz and scored a 100% :) Want to try it? ---> go to www.w3schools.com/ Till Next Time, Manfred --->OUT!
I once heard that "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." I am not really sure who said it, Sun Tzu, Confucius or someone like that, but I have taken my first step into fully immersing myself into the SQL world. Regrettedly, I have closed a chapter in my life and left behind a few good friends at my old job namely Alex, Josh, Joe and Nathan, but I am very excited about the new opportunites and what my future potentially holds. In chess terminology, I have made a move where the po...
Awesome first day at PWF!! The folks there are super supportive and patient. They are enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge and it is definitely contagious. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be trained by such a great group of professionals. Can't wait to build on what we've learned already.