October 16, 2013 at 9:09 am
I'm looking for some direction.
I did it because I'm reading The Accidental DBA in an effort to branch out beyond the T-SQL stuff I've been kind of limited to at work. I'm very interested in SQL a whole would love to understand how things work beyond hitting f5 and waiting.
A lot of the code in the beginning of the book to take a look at various performance bottlenecks and whatnot obviously don't turn up much because nothing is going on.
Apart from that, for development stuff, what are some good dummy dbs to use? I already have AdventureWorks on my list, but figure there may be something better out there.
Thanks
October 16, 2013 at 10:18 am
For starters if you want to play and learn SQL Server then why did you go with SQL Express. You might want to consider installing the full developer edition of SQL Server.
October 16, 2013 at 12:15 pm
erikd (10/16/2013)
I'm looking for some direction.I did it because I'm reading The Accidental DBA in an effort to branch out beyond the T-SQL stuff I've been kind of limited to at work. I'm very interested in SQL a whole would love to understand how things work beyond hitting f5 and waiting.
A lot of the code in the beginning of the book to take a look at various performance bottlenecks and whatnot obviously don't turn up much because nothing is going on.
Apart from that, for development stuff, what are some good dummy dbs to use? I already have AdventureWorks on my list, but figure there may be something better out there.
Thanks
Most of the examples you will find for tutorial type stuff on line will use AdventureWorks.
You can always create your own database just for playing and figuring stuff out.
btw, not sure what the previous poster was complaining about. SQLExpress is free and is a great tool, especially for learning when you don't have access to a full blown version.
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October 16, 2013 at 12:27 pm
Great post dear thanks for sharing.
October 16, 2013 at 12:30 pm
erikd (10/16/2013)
Jeff Atherton (10/16/2013)
For starters if you want to play and learn SQL Server then why did you go with SQL Express. You might want to consider installing the full developer edition of SQL Server.
$45 or so the last time I checked. Or you can always just download the evaluation edition.
October 16, 2013 at 12:42 pm
Sean Lange (10/16/2013)
btw, not sure what the previous poster was complaining about. SQLExpress is free and is a great tool, especially for learning when you don't have access to a full blown version.
The initial post mentioned "interested in SQL as a whole". Developer edition is full enterprise. SSIS, SSRS, SSAS. No limits on database size, etc.
October 16, 2013 at 12:47 pm
Jeff Atherton (10/16/2013)
Sean Lange (10/16/2013)
btw, not sure what the previous poster was complaining about. SQLExpress is free and is a great tool, especially for learning when you don't have access to a full blown version.
The initial post mentioned "interested in SQL as a whole". Developer edition is full enterprise. SSIS, SSRS, SSAS. No limits on database size, etc.
True enough but those are quite a bit beyond the second half of the sentence.
would love to understand how things work beyond hitting f5 and waiting.
Just saying that Express is a viable option as a learning tool. Certainly as their knowledge starts to grow they might want to consider branching out into other areas. No need to layout some cash for features you are not ready to tackle yet. 😉
_______________________________________________________________
Need help? Help us help you.
Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.
Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/
October 16, 2013 at 1:10 pm
Jeff Atherton (10/16/2013)
Sean Lange (10/16/2013)
btw, not sure what the previous poster was complaining about. SQLExpress is free and is a great tool, especially for learning when you don't have access to a full blown version.
The initial post mentioned "interested in SQL as a whole". Developer edition is full enterprise. SSIS, SSRS, SSAS. No limits on database size, etc.
Ah. Yeah. I meant more from an administrative standpoint, I guess. No doubt those things are included in that, but I'm looking to pick up basic DBA skills right now and just get generally more familiar with what's under the hood. Now that I'm getting t-SQL squared away, I'd like to stick my fingers in some other stuff.
I have access to 2012 Enterprise at work, with all the bells and whistles (I do not enjoy time spent with SSIS). But I thought it might be a good idea to have something local where I can't do anything job-endingly catastrophic, I can document all the code I write in a working environment, and I can fiddle with code I find kicking around that looks interesting without reliance on work resources (VPN > RDP > SSMS > make a back up table > hit f5 > wait).
Developer Edition was $60 at the MS link I posted up yonder, and it's on Amazon for $48 (lowest I can see from a Prime eligible seller). If you know of a cheaper place, I could probably be talked into getting it. I was going to install 2014 CTP1 a few days ago, but didn't want to uninstall VS 2012 to do so.
Thanks!
p.s. Sean - that snippet viewer is still saving my life.
October 16, 2013 at 1:20 pm
p.s. Sean - that snippet viewer is still saving my life.
😉 Glad to hear it is working for you. I use it pretty frequently myself.
_______________________________________________________________
Need help? Help us help you.
Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.
Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/
October 16, 2013 at 1:33 pm
erikd (10/16/2013)
Developer Edition was $60 at the MS link I posted up yonder, and it's on Amazon for $48 (lowest I can see from a Prime eligible seller). If you know of a cheaper place, I could probably be talked into getting it. I was going to install 2014 CTP1 a few days ago, but didn't want to uninstall VS 2012 to do so.
If you'll only be using it in a test environment to learn then just install the evaluation version for free. You get 6 months to play around with it at no cost. Then if you want after that you can buy a developer license and keep using it.
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