A wee bit exhausted… time to reenergize

drsql — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 02:26:00 GMT

I admit it. I am tired and I have not blogged nearly enough. This has been a crazy year, with the book I finished writing, the pre-cons I have done (teaching is NOT my primary profession so I do a lot more prep than some others probably do), lots of training on Data Warehousing topics (from Ralph Kimball, Bob Becker, and Stacia Misner, to name three of the great teachers I have had), SQL Rally, SQL PASS, SQL Saturdays and I have gotten a lot more regular with my simple-talk blog as well… Add to this the fact that my daughter added a new grandchild to the family, and my mother has started to get so weak she is starting to fall down quite often (I am writing this blog entry from a spare bedroom at my mother-in-law’s house while my mom is in rehab!) and I am getting exhausted.

Am I whining? Probably, but it is my blog! No, seriously I figure that occasionally you have to poke your head out from under the covers and write something and this is my something until after the New Year (other than posting a few already written and edited simple-talk blogs). I am on vacation from work for 2.5 weeks, and I don’t plan to do much with this laptop of mine for those two weeks unless the spirit hits me with an idea for a blog that I just have to write, but usually most of my blogs that have any technical or artistic merit take weeks to complete. On the second of January, I hope to be back at it, analyzing my resolutions from last year, and making good on a few of them, particularly “Blog about my other (computer) love occasionally” and review some of the gadgets I have acquired as they pertain to doing my job as a writer/data architect. (Hint: My mother-in-law does not have Internet access, so some of the devices I have here are instrumental in my ability to work untethered for weeks on end.)

So until next year, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year! I hope your holidays are restful and fun. I know part of mine will be because I intend to replicate this picture at least one or two more times next week, hopefully with a Turkey Leg in the hand that isn’t holding the camera taking the picture (all with my Windows Phone set on Battery Saver Mode, which delightfully turns off all syncing :)

SQL Rally Relational Database Design Pre-Con Preview

drsql — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 03:58:10 GMT

On May 9, 2012, I will be presenting a pre-con session at the SQL Rally in Dallas, TX on relational database design. The fact is, database design is a topic that demands more than a simple one hour session to really do it right. So in my Relational Database Design Workshop, we will have seven times the amount of time in the typical session, giving us time to cover our topics in a bit more detail, look at a lot more designs/code, and even get some time to do some design as a group. Our topics will be:

Theory - More or less the foundational principals and processes that will presumably help you understand the "why" behind the rest of the material.
General Data Modeling - The basic concepts behind database design, data modeling, graphically and semantically. Terminology and concepts will be covered to make sure that when I say a word, you know what I am meaning. The field of computer science is littered with confusing terminology that needs to be made clear.
Normalization - Basically the process of making your database work well with the relational engine form both a performance and data integrity point of view.
Physical Modeling - The actual process of creating a working database by choosing proper data types, protecting the data integrity, etc. We will discuss the steps, as well as take a look at a model that is implemented.
Implementation Patterns- For the most part, the primary pattern that we use in a relational database is normalization. Database, tables and columns are rather easily mapped to requirements, and using normalization, we usually will arrive at a solution.However, there are certain types of solutions that crop up in common implementations. Examples include uniqueness, hierarchies, files, user-specified schema, data driven design, and more.
Other Miscellaneous Advice - Time permitting, I have a set of slides that cover some basic performance/security/implementation related material.

A lot of the material/examples/demos come from my 2012 book (SQL Server 2012 Relational Database Design and Implementation) that will be shipping just before the Rally, so I am making arrangements to get copies of the book for most if not all of the attendees. So the day will introduce the material to you in a rapid format, and then you can take the material home and read it again (and my email is always available for further questions on the material as well.)

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A wee bit exhausted… time to reenergize

SQL Rally Relational Database Design Pre-Con Preview