April 14, 2011 at 9:05 am
mtassin (4/14/2011)
Grant Fritchey (4/14/2011)
GilaMonster (4/14/2011)
Grant Fritchey (4/14/2011)
I'm looking at multiple books and articles and blog posts over the last eight years or so and I don't doubt for one second I've got horrific English in all of them.The Simple-talk books are probably fine, considering how picky and good Tony is. Blogs posts, I agree with you, the most appalling spelling and grammar sneak into those (mine too)
I hate to say this, but doing the rewrite, we missed tons of stuff in the Exec Plans book. But you're right, Tony is incredibly strict. It really helps the quality of the product.
Really? *looks over at his kindle* I've never had trouble reading the Exec Plans book. It's clear, and for a subject that can get as obtuse and sometimes dull as a technical subject like SQL server, I find it a pretty good read.
Thanks, but if you like the first one, the rewrite will blow your socks off. It really is going to be better (although, worth noting having made that promise, every single word isn't getting replaced. It's an update. We're fixing & adding stuff and only replacing what was wrong or weak).
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
April 14, 2011 at 9:10 am
Grant Fritchey (4/14/2011)
Thanks, but if you like the first one, the rewrite will blow your socks off. It really is going to be better (although, worth noting having made that promise, every single word isn't getting replaced. It's an update. We're fixing & adding stuff and only replacing what was wrong or weak).
That's awesome... the only thing I could see changing in it would be to make the various images in the book more Kindle friendly... I'm pretty much forced to just read the book, looking at the pictures and seeing anything of detail (which would be fine in a printed book) is very hard.
April 14, 2011 at 9:10 am
Great article and it takes on even more meaning when it describes my situation closely but I'm not looking to walk in to a mess. No, I slowly fell in to the quick sand. I have to wear too many hats.
April 14, 2011 at 9:49 am
Great article! (Unfortunately when I tried to rate the article I only got one star highlighted and then the system grabbed it, which is why I usually bypass ratings but I thought I'd try, so that one star should really be 5 stars.)
April 14, 2011 at 9:52 am
jremmc (4/14/2011)
Great article! (Unfortunately when I tried to rate the article I only got one star highlighted and then the system grabbed it, which is why I usually bypass ratings but I thought I'd try, so that one star should really be 5 stars.)
I added a 5 stars ratin... if enough of us do it it'll compensate!!!
April 14, 2011 at 10:11 am
I'm not the best at grammar; we all make mistakes. Your misuse of then vs than was confusing. It's a simple matter to spell these correctly. I kept reading; the article is OK.
April 14, 2011 at 10:29 am
Ninja's_RGR'us (4/14/2011)
jremmc (4/14/2011)
Great article! (Unfortunately when I tried to rate the article I only got one star highlighted and then the system grabbed it, which is why I usually bypass ratings but I thought I'd try, so that one star should really be 5 stars.)I added a 5 stars ratin... if enough of us do it it'll compensate!!!
compensated it also
i really enjoy reading it.
April 14, 2011 at 11:02 am
Interesting read.
I do have to question the idea that the 3-6 month BI project is a junior role and a good way for someone to "get their feet wet." It seems to me that such a short gig, especially in a business-centric area like BI, is about the most senior-level thing you can do.
In order to properly tackle that engagement you need to be able to hit the ground running from day one, have the ability to ask the right questions of the business, understand how to convert the answers into a reasonable data model, and then be able to quickly execute the design using the complex (and seriously buggy :-P) Microsoft BI stack. I think if someone with little real-world experience took a gig like that, things would end very quickly and very badly.
Of course the expectations are also a bit odd; most significant BI projects take much longer than 3-6 months.
p.s. Stefan: Don't worry, that place sucked anyway 😉
--
Adam Machanic
whoisactive
April 14, 2011 at 11:10 am
Adam Machanic (4/14/2011)
Interesting read.I do have to question the idea that the 3-6 month BI project is a junior role and a good way for someone to "get their feet wet." It seems to me that such a short gig, especially in a business-centric area like BI, is about the most senior-level thing you can do.
In order to properly tackle that engagement you need to be able to hit the ground running from day one, have the ability to ask the right questions of the business, understand how to convert the answers into a reasonable data model, and then be able to quickly execute the design using the complex (and seriously buggy :-P) Microsoft BI stack. I think if someone with little real-world experience took a gig like that, things would end very quickly and very badly.
Of course the expectations are also a bit odd; most significant BI projects take much longer than 3-6 months.
p.s. Stefan: Don't worry, that place sucked anyway 😉
I've found that almost all contracts are advertised as 3-6 month regardless of how long they're actually expected to take.
Was that you they were talking about? LOL. I had a feeling if I mentioned it here I might find out who it was.
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When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
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It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams
April 14, 2011 at 11:41 am
Stefan Krzywicki (4/14/2011)
Was that you they were talking about? LOL. I had a feeling if I mentioned it here I might find out who it was.
No, I was just joking 🙂 -- pretty sure it wasn't me. I usually help my customers with tech screens and I don't recall ever interviewing you. Or have I? What company was it? (Or industry, at least?)
--
Adam Machanic
whoisactive
April 14, 2011 at 11:44 am
Adam Machanic (4/14/2011)
Stefan Krzywicki (4/14/2011)
Was that you they were talking about? LOL. I had a feeling if I mentioned it here I might find out who it was.No, I was just joking 🙂 -- pretty sure it wasn't me. I usually help my customers with tech screens and I don't recall ever interviewing you. Or have I? What company was it? (Or industry, at least?)
Ah well. I never did get to talk to the author they said they had. It was a number of years ago and I don't tend to recall the details of interviews that don't lead to jobs. It might have been the biotech or medical industry if I recall correctly, but I'd have to check my records to see what company.
--------------------------------------
When you encounter a problem, if the solution isn't readily evident go back to the start and check your assumptions.
--------------------------------------
It’s unpleasantly like being drunk.
What’s so unpleasant about being drunk?
You ask a glass of water. -- Douglas Adams
April 14, 2011 at 11:52 am
yes.
April 14, 2011 at 11:54 am
Koen Verbeeck (4/14/2011)
I get frustrated a lot with those job postings of HR/consultancy firms who don't know what the technical content is, so they'll just add some buzzwords. And demand that you speak at least 3 languages fluently, be proficient in at least 5 different domains in IT (which aren't necessarilly linked) and that you are a workaholic. And you can't have more than 3 years of experience, or you're too expensive.
Thanks Koen. That last part is important to me and is causing me to think about it more. I don't think the combination of skillsets of our industry are 'pricable', and I think that's being done on purpose. I'll have to ponder that a while.
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
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April 14, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Stefan Krzywicki (4/14/2011)
. . .I've found that almost all contracts are advertised as 3-6 month regardless of how long they're actually expected to take.
. . .
Most companies are allowed to make contracts go only until the end of the fiscal year. However, there may be a clause that the contract is renewable under the stated conditions. (Which means that they will keep as long as they wish but the rate likely will not go up, unless you speak up and they really need you.)
April 14, 2011 at 12:10 pm
mohammed moinudheen (4/14/2011)
Craig, thank you very much for the article. This would be very helpful for most of us.I have seen many job postings which requires people knowledgebale in other database products as well like Oracle, Sybase etc.
These are usually two fold. In some cases, they're looking for someone who can help out the other DBAs with junior/mid type work. Somewhat common in a dual engine shop so you don't end up with different 'sides of the house'. The other times is when they already have split it into 'sides of the house' and they're looking for people with enough familiarity to connect to it with SSIS or other ETL methods. You'll usually have to read between the lines to know which of these they're looking for.
Would it be preferable for SQL Server professionals who are working as Administrators to start learning about adminstrating other database products (Oracle, DB2 etc) or should we start learning T-SQL development, SSRS etc.
My personal goal is not to know the entire mountain range but to be able to climb one peak well, so in that, I'm almost pure SQL Server. This is a risk I take, because if SQL Server ever loses popularity I'm in trouble. Knowing other products isn't as important usually as knowing good T-SQL and administrative tasks, such as SSRS security and setup. Once you're past those administrative needs to be able to support a very wide developer userbase, then I'd look into possibly learning another RDBMS.
I'd personally recommend MySQL if you're going to tackle a second one randomly. Anything free sells until they realize they're in over there heads. There's almost always jobs for MySQL contracting to clean up what someone else didn't do well, but realize there's not a ton of money in MySQL. If they were willing to spend a lot of money on that database, they probably wouldn't have selected a 'free' product.
Never stop learning, even if it hurts. Ego bruises are practically mandatory as you learn unless you've never risked enough to make a mistake.
For better assistance in answering your questions[/url] | Forum Netiquette
For index/tuning help, follow these directions.[/url] |Tally Tables[/url]
Twitter: @AnyWayDBA
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