Hooboy…the super-structured format of the first two RTFM365 posts just isn’t sustainable for me. I’m going to have to go casual if I’m going to keep this up for another 50 weeks…  Ditto for the week in review posts.

By the way, did you know there’s a lunar eclipse tonight for those of us in North America? COOL. I believe the graphic we use for MidnightDBA is an image of the moon in full eclipse – in the umbra, which is the inner part of Earth’s shadow. (See also, Sky and Telescope.)

Boilerplate: 

For the next year (-10 days now), I will read from SQL Server Books Online a little every day, and blog about it weekly. See my RTFM365 post for the full details on this project, and follow along with the series via the RTFM365 tag. 

Reading this week was in SQL Server 2008 Books Online unless otherwise noted. Please note: I’m exploring BOL and learning a little each day; I’m not here to read it to you or review it.  

Here’s what I read last week:

Weekend

• Reporting Services > Development > Report Design Basics, and clickthroughs (SQL 08 R2) (BOL Link).  Good for beginning SSRS development, of course, but lots of links for further reading in the text.

  Good for: Getting started with SSRS development, or studying same.

  Recommended for: All.

Days 13-17:

• Using Statistic to Improve Query Performance (BOL Link) 
• Using Parameters to Control Report Data

  Learned: If you create a parameter specifically (in the Dataset Properties > Parameters page), the param doesn’t change when you modify the data set query. But parameters that are generated automatically (from variables in the data set query) DO change when the data set query changes. Is this the same in 2008?

• “How to: Add Cascading Parameters to a Report (Reporting Services).” ”Order is important for cascading parameters…”  Good to know.
• Filtering Data in a Report
• Filtering Report Data at the Source
• Filtering Report Data in the Report

As I’ve said before…the real problem with a project like this isn’t getting bored. It’s always wanting to read more, and just not having the time I’d like. I hope to dedicate some real time this week to reading BOL.

Week in Review

This is my second week in a row (in the new season) that I haven’t put out a new blogcast, and I’m rather unhappy about that. I’ll try to get a little something together today, just to keep on track.  On the plus side, I did submit for SQL Rally , SQL Saturday Houston, and 24HOP WIT.

• New vids!
  • The PASS Summit interview with Adam Machanic (blog, twitter) is up! Good times indeed…
  • Our DBAs at Midnight webshow for 12/20 (ep. 2.15) is up: Stallin SQL Like a Mofo.  Here are the show notes.
  • The preview and show notes for the 12/27 show (ep 2.15) are up: Smell my Guitar.
  • We WILL have a live webshow Christmas eve, 11pm CST. We have lives, just not after 10pm.
  • Here is Sean’s latest car talk: Using Logic on Vendors
• Jen blog
  • T-SQL Tuesday #13–A Business Walks Into a Bar….  Did you hear the one about the BA that kept calling tables “functions”, and columns “rows”, no matter how many times I explained the difference? 
  • 24HOP WIT in March? Jen says yes.  On Twitter today there has been some talk about whether the all-women format is a good thing, or not. 
• Sean blog
  • Sean’s been busy, so here’s one from the vaults: Working with Users

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Happy days,

Jen McCown

http://www.MidnightDBA.com/Jen