tim chapman

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How do I assign permissions to users to see SQL Agent Jobs?

You can give your users rights to check if reports have run or jobs are complete without granting full admin rights. Here's how you can do so by using SQLAgentReaderRole in SQL Server. by Tim Chapman

Tags: Job, Permission, Microsoft SQL Server, SQL, SQLAgentReaderRole, SQLAgentUserRole, SQLAgentOperatorRole, NULL, INT, END, Recruitment & Selection, Advertising & Promotion, Databases, Human Resources, Workforce Management, Marketing, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-08-06

Removing Duplicate Records using SQL Server 2005

Removing duplicate records from tables is sometimes an arduous task, especially if the source table does not contain a primary key field. Here's how you can take advantage of a new SQL Server 2005 feature to remove duplicates quickly and efficiently. by Tim Chapman

Tags: Microsoft SQL Server, Record, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Table, SalesHistory, SaleDate, SalePrice, SELECT, Productivity, Databases, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-07-29

Avoiding Cursors with SQL Server 2005

Sometimes cursors are necessary when executing queries in SQL Server, but most of the time they can be avoided entirely. Tim Chapman shows where cursors can traditionally be used, and how you can use features packaged in SQL Server 2005 to avoid them. by Tim Chapman

Tags: Microsoft SQL Server, Cursor, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Inventory, InventoryDate, InventoryCount, DATEADD, GETDATE, SELECT, BigScreen, PoolTable, Databases, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-07-21

Create custom looping procedures in SQL Server 2005

Tim Chapman shows how to create system stored procedures that will allow you to loop through and execute statements against any type of object in SQL Server 2005. by Tim Chapman

Tags: Stored Procedure, Microsoft SQL Server, SQL, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, CLR, Exec, N, Tim, System Stored Procedure, NVARCHAR, Databases, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-07-08

Take advantage of undocumented SQL Server iteration procedures

Here's a look at how you can use two built-in system stored procedures -- sp_msforeachdb and sp_msforeachtable -- to iterate through SQL Server tables and databases. by Tim Chapman

Tags: Microsoft SQL Server, Server, Tim, Storage, Databases, Hardware, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-07-03

Define custom error messages in SQL Server 2005

By defining custom error messages in SQL Server 2005, you can use the severity of these messages to illicit certain types of behavior from the database engine. Tim Chapman provides ideas on how to use custom error messages in your shop. by Tim Chapman

Tags: Message, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Error, Error Message, Custom Error Message, RAISERROR, CATCH, Tim, Databases, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-06-30

Convert a string array to tabular data in SQL Server

Many DBAs using SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005 are still not very comfortable parsing XML data to get an array of values. Check out this approach for converting arrays of string values to a dataset in SQL Server 2000 and later. by Tim Chapman

Tags: Microsoft SQL Server, Server, @ParamaterList, Tim, Databases, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-06-06

Audit data using SQL Server 2005's COLUMNS_UPDATED function

Auditing data changes in your production environment is very important, especially if you are dealing with confidential information. Besides tracking the data that has been modified, it is also useful to track the individual field names that have been modified. This information is great for your auditing department, and it...

Tags: Function, Audit, Microsoft SQL Server, Auditing, Trigger, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, COLUMNS_UPDATED, COLUMNS_UPDATED Function, System Function, Tim, Databases, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-05-13

Convert numbers to fractions using SQL Server

I recently worked on an interesting problem that involved converting a decimal number to a fraction value in SQL Server. At first glance, it seemed reasonably simple, but after digging into the actual code a bit, I realized it was rather challenging. Here's how you can write...

Tags: Fraction, Microsoft SQL Server, Server, VARCHAR, Tim, Databases, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-04-30

Generate synchronization scripts in SQL Server with TableDiff

DBAs often have to find the differences between lookup tables in different database environments (i.e., development, quality-assurance, staging, and production). The data in these lookup tables are required to be the same across environments to ensure that your testing is accurate. There are a variety of great...

Tags: Microsoft SQL Server, Environment, Server, TableDiff, Tim, Databases, Storage, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Hardware, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-04-22

Simplify SQL Server 2005 queries with a Dates table

I find that it can be advantageous to use a Dates table, especially when doing a lot of date calculations. Learn what a Dates table is and how to create one, and then try it out for yourself. What is a Dates table? A Dates table stores a...

Tags: Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Table, DateLookup, DATEPART, SaleDate, Tim, Sales Strategy, Databases, Enterprise Software, Sales, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-04-14

Document Sarbanes-Oxley compliance with SQL Server 2005

As the DBA for revenue-generating applications, I am frequently invited by my CIO to meetings with Sarbanes-Oxley auditors to discuss the security and integrity of corporate data. In a nutshell, we're expected to answer any number of questions, via appropriate documentation, about who has access to our data, how access...

Tags: Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance, Audit, Event, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, DDL, Microsoft SQL Server, Trigger, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Data Definition Language Trigger, Data Definition Language Event, Tim, Databases, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-04-07

Diagnose SQL Server performance issues using sp_lock

A common misconception among IT pros is that "locks are bad," and you must do everything possible to ensure database locking doesn't prevent processes from running. In order to ensure a consistent database environment, the database engine must use a mechanism to acquire exclusive use of a resource when that...

Tags: Procedure, Performance, Microsoft SQL Server, Lock, Locks, Spid, Dbid, Tim, Storage, Databases, Hardware, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-03-31

Build directory structures using SQL Server 2005

If you ever work with directory structures on the filing system, you know how challenging it can be to traverse through folders to find specific files. If you store this type of information structure in the database, you are even more aware of what it takes to retrieve the data....

Tags: Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Directory Structure, Tim, Databases, Storage, XML, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Hardware, Software/Web Development, Web Development, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-03-17

Generate dynamic SQL statements in SQL Server

When you need to solve a tricky database problem, the ability to generate SQL statements is a powerful tool -- although you must be careful when using it. This article explores how you can use this functionality to generate SQL statements on the fly. Dynamic SQL statements A...

Tags: Parameter, Procedure, Microsoft SQL Server, Statement, Server, SQL, SalesHistory, usp_GetSalesHistory, EXECUTE, Tim, Programming Languages, Databases, Software Development, Software/Web Development, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-03-10

Sorting character strings using SQL Server

You are probably familiar with the built-in sorting abilities of SQL Server for columnar data, but what if you need to sort character strings stored in SQL Server fields? Even though this may not be a common need for most users, this issue may come up from time to time. I'll demonstrate...

Tags: Algorithm, Function, Microsoft SQL Server, Server, String, Character, VARCHAR, Tim, Engineering, Databases, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-03-03

Monitor database file sizes with SQL Server Jobs

The ability to automate administrative tasks is vital in almost any SQL Server database environment. In the SQL Server world, this scheduling of work is known as a "Job." It allows you to perform such tasks as database maintenance, invoke executables, ActiveX script, Integration Services packages, and business transactions. ...

Tags: Job, Monitor, Step, Microsoft SQL Server, Tim, Recruitment & Selection, Databases, Enterprise Software, Human Resources, Workforce Management, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-02-25

Capturing SQL Server 2005 database file size information

It's very important to capture trends of the sizes of your SQL Server 2005 database because it allows you to plan for future space needs, notice types of problems, and plan for time periods of heavy volume. I'll show you the simple method that I use to capture this information....

Tags: Microsoft SQL Server, Information, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, DatabaseFiles, Tim, Storage, Databases, Hardware, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-02-15

Easily correct data casing with SQL Server

Whether data is entered into your SQL Server system from a Web site, internal applications, or through files, the presentation of the data is always a concern. In this tutorial, I will create a function that will be useful in terms of updating data or just displaying data to end...

Tags: Function, Microsoft SQL Server, Server, Data, Tim, Databases, Storage, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Hardware, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-02-11

Finding dependencies in SQL Server 2005

Any time you need to modify objects in your SQL Server 2005 database, the objects that are dependent upon those objects are a concern. You don't want to remove columns from tables, procedures, views, or tables if there are objects dependent upon them that are being used. ...

Tags: Procedure, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Object, SalesHistory, SalePrice, Tim, Databases, Storage, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management, Hardware, Tim Chapman

Blog posts 2008-02-04