Exploring 'ON DELETE SET NULL' in SQL Server 2005

At first glance, the 'ON DELETE SET NULL' option in SQL Server 2005 may not seem like a big deal, but once you've seen how it can be used, I think you will be impressed. The basics? If Order.CustomerID has a foreign key to Customer.CustomerID and a customer is deleted, 'ON DELETE SET NULL' causes the CustomerID field in each of that customer's orders to be set to NULL. It allows the "parent" record to be deleted and sets the "child" record's column to NULL. A normal foreign key says Order.CustomerID must match a record in Customer. An 'ON DELETE SET NULL' foreign key says that if Order.CustomerID is not null, then its value must match a record in Customer.

Performance Tips Part 2

SQL Server 2000 is a self tuning, self balancing application that performs wonderfully under a wide variety of loads and conditions with a minimal of administrative tuning. However there are some things that you can do when building T-SQL code and working with SQL Server to maximize performance. Leo Peysakhovich brings us part two of his series looking at some different scenarios and how you can structure your code for better performance.

MDX Essentials: Set and String Functions: The GENERATE() Function

In this lesson, we will introduce a function that provides us the ability to derive a set by systematically applying a set expression to each of the members of a set we define. GENERATE() is a potent function in our MDX toolset, in that it enables us to select precisely only certain members of a dimension level. It effectively operates upon two sets to create a new set, based upon the members of a second set that are also in a primary set.

Quick! Which specific SQL Server user is logged into which database?

SQL Server's master database stores tables with important and constantly updated information about the state of the SQL server. One of these tables, sysprocesses, can be used to track (in SQL Server itself) which SQL Server users are currently logged in and which database(s) they are accessing.

The quick way to find out if a particular user is accessing a particular table is with a query.

Full Text Search on SQL 2000 Part 4

This article concentrates on using Full Text Search to query text located inside Microsoft Office documents. In previous articles, Microsoft Search was introduced as an add-on service to enable advanced text queries. Catalogs, the physical storage units for search, were created and indexed. The TSQL keywords CONTAINS, FORMSOF, and INFLECTIONAL were used to query the newly created Catalogs. Population Schedules along with Change Tracking options were discussed as methods to keep the Catalogs up to date with the underlying database.

Programming Replication from Heterogeneous Data Sources

Microsoft® SQL Server™ enables third-party products to become Publishers within the SQL Server replication framework. The Replication Distributor Interface allows replication from heterogeneous databases that provide 32-bit OLE DB drivers to Subscribers running SQL Server 2000. Heterogeneous data sources include:

* Oracle databases

* DB2 databases

* Microsoft Access databases

* Other databases that comply with SQL Server ODBC or OLE DB Subscriber requirements

An Interview with Idera CEO, Rick Pleczko

I was talking with the people over at Idera a few weeks ago and they mentioned that their CEO would be happy to give us a few minutes of his time. So I took them up on the offer and built a list of questions about Idera and SQL Server 2005. Take a moment to learn about the vendor view of the world and the impending release of SQL Server 2005.

SQL Server 2005 Integration Services: Lessons from Project REAL

In Project REAL we are using large volumes of real data and scenarios from real companies to implement business intelligence systems using early releases of Microsoft SQL Server 2005. In the process, best practices are being developed and potential problems uncovered. This article reports some of the lessons learned while working on the data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) portion of the first phase of Project REAL.

The value of experienced coders

I was about 40 the first time I was told I should not continue coding. A well-meaning vice president at my company pulled me aside at a party and told me that I was getting too old to code. He had been a coder himself, knew that he was getting too old, and moved over to sales. He was sure that I should be moving over to another part of the business. I told him that perhaps not only did he have a problem coding when he reached 40, he probably had the same problem at 38. I said that I was perfectly happy as a coder, and had every intention of continuing as long as someone was willing to pay me.

SQL Server DevCon 2005

New author Mike McCallum spent a week in London at the 2005 SQL Server DevCon conference. It's a smaller event than the PASS Summits, but if it fits your travel or schedule plans better, take a read and see what he thought. With training budgets tight and SQL Server 2005 bringing a completely new paradigm, knowing all your training options is a good thing.