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  • 16-bit PNGs in Slick2D

    - by Neglected
    I'm working on a project and I'm using some 3rd party sprites just to get it off the ground; recently I've come into a hitch. Slick2D doesn't seem to want to load my images. That is, it will warn me that images are the wrong bit-depth. All the images are in 16-bit PNG form (PNG is required for transparency). Is there any way I can disable the warning (being the bad guy programmer (the console print for each individual load REALLY SLOWS DOWN the image)) or is there another solution? I was thinking about converting all images (using imagemagick) to .gif (with an alpha channel). Would there be any loss in quality between formats? EDIT: I tried using imagemagick but some of the sprites use pure black so I can't do that without wrecking the image. EDIT2: using "identify" on any of the images show them as being 8-bit.. but Slick2D won't load them. What the hell? D: EDIT3: Issue solved (ish). If you are googling this then just disable the java png loader from slick by sticking this somewhere in your code (like the main method): System.setProperty("org.newdawn.slick.pngloader", "false");

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  • How could there still not be a mysqldb module for Python 3? [closed]

    - by itsadok
    This SO question is now more than two years old. MySQL is an incredibly popular database engine, Python is an incredibly popular programming language, and Python 3 has been officially released two years ago, and was available even before that. What's more, the whole mysqldb module is just a layer translating Python's db-api to MySQL's API. It's not that big of a library. I must be missing something here. How come almost* nobody in the entire open source community has spent the (I'm guessing) two weeks it takes to port this lib? Is Python 3 that unpopular? Is the combination of python and mysql not as common as I assume? Or maybe it's just a lot harder to port mysqldb than I assume? Anyone know the inside story on this? * Now I see that this guy has done it, which takes some of the wind out of my question, but it still seems to little and too late to make sense. EDIT: OK, I'm aware that the stock answers for these kind of questions cover this one as well. Patches welcome, scratch your itch, we don't work for you and we don't have the time, etc. I actually took a shot at porting this about a year ago, but it was my first time doing anything with Python C extensions, and I failed. My point in writing this was not a plea for somebody to write it, but genuine curiosity: it seems that some much more complicated libraries have been ported to python 3 already, and in the poll for which libraries should be ported, mysqldb is not even nominated! That suggests that maybe (2) is the right answer. UPDATE: I found that there are several new libraries that provide mysql support under Python 3, I just wasn't googling hard enough. That explains everything.

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  • Work @ Java shop. Tasked to redo intranet. I only know PHP - CTO says use that; Ops Says no - we have JSP, use that - Thoughts?

    - by Mackysback
    So I work as a project manager and was given the opportunity to redo the intranet and Internet site... I'd love to , great addition to my resume. However.... I am not familiar with java nor JSP... I am fairly proficient with PHP and MySQL ... Also my intention was to use a CMS that I have experience with, wordpress, drupal or joomla... The site would be very simple so I was thinking wordpress would be fine for this. I told management that I would need it to run on PHP and they gave me their blessing... Now the disconnect bw it and management ... I spoke with ops and they told me that we have java and JSP for that purpose although the IT guy did say "oh but I do know that php and mysql are gaining popularity" That said ... I do not understand much as far as systems architecture... We do self host and run websphere with IIS and jboss with tomcat. Any advice or suggestions? Thanks ! Is my request that unfeasible?

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  • Bikeshedding: Placeholders in strings

    - by dotancohen
    I find that I sometimes use placeholders in strings, like this: $ cat example-apache <VirtualHost *:80> ServerName ##DOMAIN_NAME## ServerAlias www.##DOMAIN_NAME## DocumentRoot /var/www/##DOMAIN_NAME##/public_html </VirtualHost> Now I am sure that it is a minor issue if the placeholder is ##DOMAIN_NAME##, !!DOMAIN_NAME!!, {{DOMAIN_NAME}}, or some other variant. However, I now need to standardize with other developers on a project, and we all have a vested interest in having our own placeholder format made standard in the organization. Are there any good reasons for choosing any of these, or others? I am trying to quantify these considerations: Aesthetics and usability. For example, __dict__ may be hard to read as we don't know how many underscores are in there. Compatibility. Will some language try to do something funny with {} syntax in a string (such as PHP does with "Welcome to {$siteName} today!")? Actually, I know that PHP and Python won't, but others? Will a C++ preprocessor choke on ## format? If I need to store the value in some SQL engine, will it not consider something a comment? Any other pitfalls to be wary of? Maintainability. Will the new guy mistake ##SOME_PLACEHOLDER## as a language construct? The unknown. Surely the wise folk here will think of other aspects of this decision that I have not thought of. I might be bikeshedding this, but if there are real issues that might be lurking then I would certainly like to know about them before mandating that our developers adhere to a potentially-problematic convention.

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  • Placeholders in strings

    - by dotancohen
    I find that I sometimes use placeholders in strings, like this: $ cat example-apache <VirtualHost *:80> ServerName ##DOMAIN_NAME## ServerAlias www.##DOMAIN_NAME## DocumentRoot /var/www/##DOMAIN_NAME##/public_html </VirtualHost> Now I am sure that it is a minor issue if the placeholder is ##DOMAIN_NAME##, !!DOMAIN_NAME!!, {{DOMAIN_NAME}}, or some other variant. However, I now need to standardize with other developers on a project, and we all have a vested interest in having our own placeholder format made standard in the organization. Are there any good reasons for choosing any of these, or others? I am trying to quantify these considerations: Aesthetics and usability. For example, __dict__ may be hard to read as we don't know how many underscores are in there. Compatibility. Will some language try to do something funny with {} syntax in a string (such as PHP does with "Welcome to {$siteName} today!")? Actually, I know that PHP and Python won't, but others? Will a C++ preprocessor choke on ## format? If I need to store the value in some SQL engine, will it not consider something a comment? Any other pitfalls to be wary of? Maintainability. Will the new guy mistake ##SOME_PLACEHOLDER## as a language construct? The unknown. Surely the wise folk here will think of other aspects of this decision that I have not thought of. I might be bikeshedding this, but if there are real issues that might be lurking then I would certainly like to know about them before mandating that our developers adhere to a potentially-problematic convention.

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  • How to dual boot Ubuntu 12.10 and Windows XP sp3 on Dell Dimension 8250 desktop using 2 hard drives

    - by user106055
    I'd like instructions to dual boot Ubuntu 12.10 and Windows XP (sp3) on my desktop Dell Dimension 8250 (this is old and has 1.5 GB RAM which is maximum). I will be using 2 hard drives. Windows XP is already on a 120 GB drive and and Ubuntu 12.10 will go on a separate 80 GB hard drive. Both drives are IDE using a 80 conductor cable where the 40 pin blue connector connects to the motherboard. The middle connector is gray and is "normally" used for slave (device 1) and the black connector at the very end of the cable is meant for the master drive (device 0) or a single drive if only one is used. First, I do not wish the XP drive to have its boot modified by Ubuntu in any way. It should remain untouched...virgin. Let me know where the XP drive and the Ubuntu drive should be connected based upon the cable I've mentioned above, as well as jumper settings for both during the whole process. I'm just guessing, but should I remove the XP drive and put the empty Ubuntu drive in its place and install Ubuntu? By the way, I already have made the DVD ISO disk. For your information, the BIOS for this machine is version A03. When I tap F12 to get to the boot menu, I have the following choices: Normal (this will take me to a black screen with white type giving me the choice to boot to XP or to my external USB backup recovery drive) Diskette Drive Hard-Disk Drive c: IDE CD-ROM Drive (Note that if the CD Drive is empty, it will then go to the DVD drive) System Setup IDE Drive Diagnostics Boot to Utility Partition (This is Dell's various testing utilities) Thank you in advance for your help. Guy

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  • Matching users based on a series of questions

    - by SeanWM
    I'm trying to figure out a way to match users based on specific personality traits. Each trait will have its own category. I figure in my user table I'll add a column for each category: id name cat1 cat2 cat3 1 Sean ? ? ? 2 Other ? ? ? Let's say I ask each user 3 questions in each category. For each question, you can answer one of the following: No, Maybe, Yes How would I calculate one number based off the answers in those 3 questions that would hold a value I can compare other users to? I was thinking having some sort of weight. Like: No -> 0 Maybe -> 1 Yes -> 2 Then doing some sort of meaningful calculation. I want to end up with something like this so I can query the users and find who matches close: id name cat1 cat2 cat3 1 Sean 4 5 1 2 Other 1 2 5 In the situation above, the users don't really match. I'd want to match with someone with a +1 or -1 of my score in each category. I'm not a math guy so I'm just looking for some ideas to get me started.

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  • What's the best way to handle numerous recurring log entries in game loop?

    - by Kaa
    I have a custom logging system, use of which is scattered all over the engine and game. The system is linked to a "LogStore" that has an std::vector<string> logs[NUM_LOG_TYPES] - each vector corresponds with it's log type (info, error, debug, etc.). There's one extra std::vector that has "coordinates" to all log entries in the order they were received. Now, all the logging output is also displayed inside my development console in the game. The game console is handled by HTML-type GUI and therefore requires a new <p> element being added for each log output. My problem is that the log entries that are generated in the main loop each frame freeze the engine, because they continue to add elements to the in-game console, and if the console or guy generates a warning - that creates an infinite logging loop. I want to solve it by handling the recurring log entries in an elegant way that lets you know that something is critically wrong, but won't freeze the engine - like displaying the count of errors in the last 60 frames instead of displaying errors themselves. But how do you guys handle this? Does anyone know any nifty tricks to do this? I understand the question may sound vague, but if someone came across this type of issue I'm sure they would know exactly what's happening. Example problematic log entries: OpenGL warnings (I actually do check for errors every frame in many places) Really any prints anywhere in the main loop (may be debugging, may be warnings)

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  • Game Development

    - by Sundareswaran Senthilvel
    I'm planning to write a game from scratch (a BIG Game, for commercial purpose). I'm aware that there are certain compute libraries like OpenCL, AMD APP SDK, C++ AMP as well as DirectCompute - both from MS (NOT interested in CUDA) are available in the market. I'm planning to write the game from the scratch, which includes the following engines... 1.Physics Engine 2.AI Engine 3.Main Game Engine (... and if anything is missed). I'm aware that, there are some free physics engine libraries in the market. Not sure about free AI engine libraries. I'm bit confused in choosing between the OpenCL, AMD APP SDK, and C++ AMP libraries (as already mentioned i'm NOT interested in CUDA). I want my game to be published in Windows/Android/Mac OSX. It means it should be a cross-platform game. I will be having "one source code" that i'll compile for various platforms like Windows/Android/Mac OSX, and any others if i missed. Note: Since I'm NOT a Java guy, kindly do NOT suggest me the Java Language. For Graphics language should i use OpenGL or DirectX 11? I have heard that OpenGL runs on a single core, and not sure of DirectX 11. Between OpenGL and DirectX which one should i follow? or else, are there any other graphics language that i need to start with? I want to make use of the parallelism in GPU as well as CPU.

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  • Problem with understanding how to start

    - by Coolface
    Okay, this might be a little off-topic but i try anyway. Sorry to bother. So i'm working as sysadmin for at least 5 years now and i quite enjoy IT field in general. Somehow i was never interested in programming much but always want to learn something at least easy and for personal usage. As sysadmin i need scripting skills so learn shell scripting without much problems, i also try to learn pascal, delphi, basic over time and must recent was python. Well, my problem is when i try to learn programming i just can't apply what i learn from the books to the real word. What i mean is i understand there are data structures, algorithms, variables, lib's, if-then logic, etc. but i just can't understand how to apply this things when i want to do real things. Like i want to get a something simple as parse web page, i draw a quick algorithm like get a web page, find a word on it and write a to file, on the paper everything look simple but when i get to the coding i just stuck pretty much from the start. I try read code of the real programs that just totally confusing especially big parts with many classes so i'm just quickly lost a trail what this code do. I think i just lack some fundamentals to see a big picture but don't really know what this might be? Or maybe i just don't have a passion to programming at all... My best bet was a shell scripting so i have really no problems to write complex scripts but this just not enough. Recently i was read around 5 or 6 python books because everyone say it's so easy even kid can code something but still no much luck, python is good and easy but i can't make something harder then a prodecurial style code like in bash for easy things but when i want harder things i'm still stuck. In college i was also not a math and tech guy and like to study non-tech stuff mostly like economy, psychology maybe that my problem? Anyway any advice would be greatly appriciated.

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  • Secondment promotion promises

    - by user75460
    I'm a Java developer at a large FTSE 30 company. My line manager approached me and asked if I'd like to be the teams lead developer. I was keen to accept. Initially he said I'd be acting-up for 3 months, then changed his tune and said I would be doing a 6 month secondment. During this time, he has got himself promoted and I have a new line manager. I have been very successful during this secondment and reviews have been overwhelmingly positive: both from my former line manager and current line manager. However, six months on, no lead role has been created in the organization and a new director has re-organised the structure of the team: two senior roles (senior Android and senior iOS) are going to be created. I feel a bit put-out that my secondment has amounted to nothing. I could have just done nothing and then applied for the senior role 6 months later (which I feel aren't as marketable as Lead developer). During my secondment I have basically become TA, senior developer, line manager and general go-to guy for all things (across Android and iOS). What do you think I should do, and has my company abused it's position? I feel they have offered a secondment to a role that they never really planned to create. During this time I have received no financial benefit for doing a more senior role.

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  • Java single Array best choice for accessing pixels for manipulation?

    - by Petrol
    I am just watching this tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwUnMy_pR6A and the guy (who seems to be pretty competent) is using a single array to store and access the pixels of his to-be-rendered image. I was wondering if this really is the best way to do this. The alternative of Multi-Array does have one pointer more, but Arrays do have an O(1) for accessing each index and calculating the index in a single array seems to take one addition and one multiplication operation per pixel. And if Multi-Arrays really are bad, can't you use something with Hashing to avoid those addition and multiplication operations? EDIT: here is his code... public class Screen { private int width, height; public int[] pixels; public Screen(int width, int height) { this.width = width; this.height = height; // creating array the size of one index/int for every pixel // single array has better performance than multi-array pixels = new int[width * height]; } public void render() { for (int y = 0; y < height; y++) { for (int x = 0; x < width; x++) { pixels[x + y * width] = 0xff00ff; } } } }

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  • Can an Employer turn you down if you have said the fact about current work culture being bad [closed]

    - by MansonRix
    I had recently an interview where I scored good in 1st two round of technical interview . Then in the 3rd round was the managerial round where the guy started about my experience and whether I have vaptured any requirement and handled and trained any teams. This went pretty well for around 50 mins . Then there was the awkward question , Interviewer: why amI looking for a change? Me: coz I want to explore my carrier options? Interviewer: But your current company is big enough and you can explore options over there? (This was supposedly the trap) Me: Apart from that I am missing the flexibilty of working with Us and Europe based company as my current company is not that flexible. Interviewer: What exactly you don't find flexible. Me: The login time . Even if you get late by 1sec you might have to explin. Though this is not a big problem , still I will prefer flexibilty as we are working really hard. Interviewer: Allright ( Then couple of more questions) , Hope to C U Ya , that's pretty much it . Now I called up HR and they say , they are yet to get the feedback from Interviewer. Did I screw it? I mean does some one really have to pretend always by saying positive things about company and manager though not saying negative things?

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  • Set the Windows Explorer Startup Folder in Windows 7

    - by Mysticgeek
    When you open Windows Explorer from the Taskbar in Windows 7, it defaults to the Libraries view. Today we take a look at changing the target path to allow you to customize which location opens by default. When you click on the Windows Explorer icon on the Windows 7 Taskbar, it’s set to open to the Libraries view by default. You might not use the Libraries feature, or want to set it to a different location that is more commonly used. Set Windows Explorer Startup Location To change the default startup location for the Windows Explorer Taskbar icon, if you have no Explorer screens open, hold down the Shift key, right-click the Explorer icon, and select Properties. Or if you have Windows open, right-click on the Explorer icon to bring up the Jumplist, then right-click on Windows Explorer and select Properties. Windows Explorer Properties opens up and you’ll want to click on the Shortcut tab so we can change the Target.   A common place you might want it to default to is your Documents folder. So to do that we need to enter the following into the Target field. %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n,::{450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}   Now when you open Windows Explorer from the Taskbar it defaults to My Documents… If you use the Start Menu to access Windows Explorer, open the Start Menu and go to All Programs \ Accessories and right-click on Windows Explorer then select Properties. Change the target path to where you want it to go. In this example we want Windows Explorer to open up to My Computer so we entered the following in the Target field. %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /E,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D} When click on the Explorer icon in the Start Menu it defaults to My Computer… You can set it to open to various locations. For instance if you wanted to mess with someone at work, you could enter the following and Explorer will always open to the Recycle Bin. %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /E,::{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} Conclusion Here we showed you a couple of commonly used locations that you might want Windows Explorer to open to instead of Libraries. You can set it to other locations if you know the GUID (Globally Unique Identifiers) for the object or location you want it to default to. For more on using GUIDs check out The Geek’s article on how to enable the secret “How-To Geek” mode in Windows 7. Actually it’s just a play on the so-called “God Mode” for Windows, but there is some good information, and a list of some locations you might want to have Windows Explorer open to. Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Make Explorer Show Window Titles in Windows VistaDisable Explorer Breadcrumbs in Windows VistaStill Useful in Vista: Startup Control PanelStop an Application from Running at Startup in Windows VistaHotkey for Creating New Folder in Windows Explorer TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips VMware Workstation 7 Acronis Online Backup DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Twelve must-have Google Chrome plugins Cool Looking Skins for Windows Media Player 12 Move the Mouse Pointer With Your Face Movement Using eViacam Boot Windows Faster With Boot Performance Diagnostics Create Ringtones For Your Android Phone With RingDroid Enhance Your Laptop’s Battery Life With These Tips

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  • Developer Training – Importance and Significance – Part 1

    - by pinaldave
    Developer Training - Importance and Significance - Part 1 Developer Training – Employee Morals and Ethics – Part 2 Developer Training – Difficult Questions and Alternative Perspective - Part 3 Developer Training – Various Options for Developer Training – Part 4 Developer Training – A Conclusive Summary- Part 5 Can anyone remember their final day of schooling?  This is probably a silly question because – of course you can!  Many people mark this as the most exciting, happiest day of their life.  It marks the end of testing, the end of following rules set by teachers, and the beginning of finally being able to earn money and work in your chosen field. Beginning in Real World However, many former-students will be disappointed to find out that once they become employees, learning is not over.  Many companies are discovering the importance and benefits to training their employees.  You can breathe a sigh of relief, though, because much for this kind of training there are not usually tests! We often think that we go to school for our younger years so that we do all our learning all at once, and then for the rest of our lives we use that knowledge.  But in so many cases, but especially for developers, the opposite is true.  It takes many years of schools to learn the basics of a field, and then our careers are spent learning to become experts. For this, and so many other reasons, training is very important.  Example one: developer training leads to better employees.  A company is only as good as the people it employs, and one way to ensure that you have employed the right candidate is through training.  Training can take a regular “stone” and polish it into a “diamond.”  Employees who have been well-trained will be better at their jobs and produce a better product. Most Expensive Resource Did you know that one of the most expensive operating costs for any company is not buying goods, or advertising, but its employees – especially having to hire new employees.  Bringing in new people, getting them up to speed, and providing them with perks to attract them to a company is a huge cost for companies.  So employee retention – keep the employees you already have, and keeping them happy – is incredibly important from a business aspect.  And research shows that a well-trained employee is a happy employee.  They feel more confident in their job, happier with their position, and more cared-about – and therefore less likely to leave in search of a better job.  Employee training leads to better retention. Good Moral On the subject of keeping employees happy in order to keep them at a company, the complement to that research shows that happier employees are more efficient and overall better at their jobs.  You don’t have to be a scientist to figure out why this is true.  An employee who feel that his company cares about him and his educational future will work harder for the company.  He or she will put in that extra hour during the busy season that makes all the difference in the end.  Good morale is good for the company. If good morale is better for the company, you know that it goes hand-in-hand with something even better – better efficiency.  An employee who is well trained obviously knows more about their job and all the technical aspects.  That means when a problem crops up – and they inevitably do – this employee will be well-equipped to deal with that problem with fewer problems, and no need to go searching for help from higher up.  When employees are well trained, companies run more smoothly. A Better Product Of course, all of these “pros” for employee training are leading up to the one thing that companies truly care about – a better product.  We have shown that employees who have been trained to be competitive in the market are happier at the company, they are more efficient, and their morale is better.  The overall result is that the company’s product – whether it is a database, piece of equipment, or even a physical good – is better.  And a better product will always be more competitive on the market. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: Developer Training, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • BizTalk Cross Reference Data Management Strategy

    - by charlie.mott
    Article Source: http://geekswithblogs.net/charliemott This article describes an approach to the management of cross reference data for BizTalk.  Some articles about the BizTalk Cross Referencing features can be found here: http://home.comcast.net/~sdwoodgate/xrefseed.zip http://geekswithblogs.net/michaelstephenson/archive/2006/12/24/101995.aspx http://geekswithblogs.net/charliemott/archive/2009/04/20/value-vs.id-cross-referencing-in-biztalk.aspx Options Current options to managing this data include: Maintaining xml files in the format that can be used by the out-of-the-box BTSXRefImport.exe utility. Use of user interfaces that have been developed to manage this data: BizTalk Cross Referencing Tool XRef XML Creation Tool However, there are the following issues with the above options: The 'BizTalk Cross Referencing Tool' requires a separate database to manage.  The 'XRef XML Creation' tool has no means of persisting the data settings. The 'BizTalk Cross Referencing tool' generates integers in the common id field. I prefer to use a string (e.g. acme.country.uk). This is more readable. (see naming conventions below). Both UI tools continue to use BTSXRefImport.exe.  This utility replaces all xref data. This can be a problem in continuous integration environments that support multiple clients or BizTalk target instances.  If you upload the data for one client it would destroy the data for another client.  Yet in TFS where builds run concurrently, this would break unit tests. Alternative Approach In response to these issues, I instead use simple SQL scripts to directly populate the BizTalkMgmtDb xref tables combined with a data namepacing strategy to isolate client data. Naming Conventions All data keys use namespace prefixing.  The pattern will be <companyName>.<data Type>.  The naming conventions will be to use lower casing for all items.  The data must follow this pattern to isolate it from other company cross-reference data.  The table below shows some sample data. (Note: this data uses the 'ID' cross-reference tables.  the same principles apply for the 'value' cross-referencing tables). Table.Field Description Sample Data xref_AppType.appType Application Types acme.erp acme.portal acme.assetmanagement xref_AppInstance.appInstance Application Instances (each will have a corresponding application type). acme.dynamics.ax acme.dynamics.crm acme.sharepoint acme.maximo xref_IDXRef.idXRef Holds the cross reference data types. acme.taxcode acme.country xref_IDXRefData.CommonID Holds each cross reference type value used by the canonical schemas. acme.vatcode.exmpt acme.vatcode.std acme.country.usa acme.country.uk xref_IDXRefData.AppID This holds the value for each application instance and each xref type. GBP USD SQL Scripts The data to be stored in the BizTalkMgmtDb xref tables will be managed by SQL scripts stored in a database project in the visual studio solution. File(s) Description Build.cmd A sqlcmd script to deploy data by running the SQL scripts below.  (This can be run as part of the MSBuild process).   acme.purgexref.sql SQL script to clear acme.* data from the xref tables.  As such, this will not impact data for any other company. acme.applicationInstances.sql   SQL script to insert application type and application instance data.   acme.vatcode.sql acme.country.sql etc ...  There will be a separate SQL script to insert each cross-reference data type and application specific values for these types.

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  • Challenge 19 – An Explanation of a Query

    - by Dave Ballantyne
    I have received a number of requests for an explanation of my winning query of TSQL Challenge 19. This involved traversing a hierarchy of employees and rolling a count of orders from subordinates up to superiors. The first concept I shall address is the hierarchyId , which is constructed within the CTE called cteTree.   cteTree is a recursive cte that will expand the parent-child hierarchy of the personnel in the table @emp.  One useful feature with a recursive cte is that data can be ‘passed’ from the parent to the child data.  The hierarchyId column is similar to the hierarchyId data type that was introduced in SQL Server 2008 and represents the position of the person within the organisation. Let us start with a simplistic example Albert manages Bob and Eddie.  Bob manages Carl and Dave. The hierarchyId will represent each person’s position in this relationship in a single field.  In this simple example we could append the userID together into a varchar field as detailed below. This will enable us to select a branch of the tree by filtering using Where hierarchyId  ‘1,2%’ to select Bob and all his subordinates.  Naturally, this is not comprehensive enough to provide a full solution, but as opposed to concatenating the Id’s together into a varchar datatyped column, we can apply the same theory to a varbinary.  By CASTing the ID’s into a datatype of varbinary(4) ,4 is used as 4 bytes of data are used to store an integer and building a hierarchyId  from those.  For example: The important point to bear in mind for later in the query is that the binary data generated is 'byte order comparable'. ie We can ORDER a dataset with it and the resulting data, will be in the order required. Now, would probably be a good time to download the example file and, after the cte ‘cteTree’, uncomment the line ‘select * from cteTree’.  Mark this and all prior code and execute.  This will show you how this theory directly relates to the actual challenge data.  The only deviation from the above, is that instead of using the ID of an employee, I have used the row_number() ranking function to order each level by LastName,Firstname.  This enables me to order by the HierarchyId in the final result set so that the result set is in the required order. Your output should be something like the below.  Notice also the ‘Level’ Column that contains the depth that the employee is within the tree.  I would encourage you to ‘play’ with the query, change the order in the row_number() or the length of the cast in the hierarchyId to see how that effects the outcome.  The next cte, ‘cteTreeWithOrderCount’, is a join between cteTree and the @ord table, and COUNT’s the number of orders per employee.  A LEFT JOIN is employed here to account for the occasion where an employee has made no sales.   Executing a ‘Select * from cteTreeWithOrderCount’ will return the result set as below.  The order here is unimportant as this is only a staging point of the data and only the final result set in a cte chain needs an Order by clause, unless TOP is utilised. cteExplode joins the above result set to the tally table (Nums) for Level Occurances.  So, if level is 2 then 2 rows are required.  This is done to expand the dataset, to create a new column (PathInc), which is the (n+1) integers contained within the heirarchyid.  For example, with the data for Robert King as given above, the below 3 rows will be returned. From this you can see that the pathinc column now contains the values for Andrew Fuller and Steven Buchanan who are Robert King’s superiors within the tree.    Finally cteSumUp, sums the orders for each person and their subordinates using the PathInc generated above, and the final select does the final simple mathematics and filters to restrict the result set to only the ‘original’ row per employee.

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  • A Closer Look at the HiddenInput Attribute in MVC 2

    - by Steve Michelotti
    MVC 2 includes an attribute for model metadata called the HiddenInput attribute. The typical usage of the attribute looks like this (line #3 below): 1: public class PersonViewModel 2: { 3: [HiddenInput(DisplayValue = false)] 4: public int? Id { get; set; } 5: public string FirstName { get; set; } 6: public string LastName { get; set; } 7: } So if you displayed your PersonViewModel with Html.EditorForModel() or Html.EditorFor(m => m.Id), the framework would detect the [HiddenInput] attribute metadata and produce HTML like this: 1: <input id="Id" name="Id" type="hidden" value="21" /> This is pretty straight forward and allows an elegant way to keep the technical key for your model (e.g., a Primary Key from the database) in the HTML so that everything will be wired up correctly when the form is posted to the server and of course not displaying this value visually to the end user. However, when I was giving a recent presentation, a member of the audience asked me (quite reasonably), “When would you ever set DisplayValue equal to true when using a HiddenInput?” To which I responded, “Well, it’s an edge case. There are sometimes when…er…um…people might want to…um…display this value to the user.” It was quickly apparent to me (and I’m sure everyone else in the room) what a terrible answer this was. I realized I needed to have a much better answer here. First off, let’s look at what is produced if we change our view model to use “true” (which is equivalent to use specifying [HiddenInput] since “true” is the default) on line #3: 1: public class PersonViewModel 2: { 3: [HiddenInput(DisplayValue = true)] 4: public int? Id { get; set; } 5: public string FirstName { get; set; } 6: public string LastName { get; set; } 7: } Will produce the following HTML if rendered from Htm.EditorForModel() in your view: 1: <div class="editor-label"> 2: <label for="Id">Id</label> 3: </div> 4: <div class="editor-field"> 5: 21<input id="Id" name="Id" type="hidden" value="21" /> 6: <span class="field-validation-valid" id="Id_validationMessage"></span> 7: </div> The key is line #5. We get the text of “21” (which happened to be my DB Id in this instance) and also a hidden input element (again with “21”). So the question is, why would one want to use this? The best answer I’ve found is contained in this MVC 2 whitepaper: When a view lets users edit the ID of an object and it is necessary to display the value as well as to provide a hidden input element that contains the old ID so that it can be passed back to the controller. Well, that actually makes sense. Yes, it seems like something that would happen *rarely* but, for those instances, it would enable them easily. It’s effectively equivalent to doing this in your view: 1: <%: Html.LabelFor(m => m.Id) %> 2: <%: Model.Id %> 3: <%: Html.HiddenFor(m => m.Id) %> But it’s allowing you to specify it in metadata on your view model (and thereby take advantage of templated helpers like Html.EditorForModel() and Html.EditorFor()) rather than having to explicitly specifying everything in your view.

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  • Enable Full Screen Mode in Media Center Without Trapping the Mouse

    - by DigitalGeekery
    If you have a dual monitor setup and use Windows Media Center, you’re probably aware that when WMC is in full screen mode, it traps the mouse so you can’t work on a second monitor. Here we look at how to solve the annoyance. The Maxifier is an application that allows you to open Media Center in full screen mode without restricting the mouse. It relieves the annoyance of WMC capturing your mouse on a dual monitor setup. Note: If you don’t have two monitors attached, most of The Maxifier’s functions won’t work. Installation and Use Download, extract, and install The Maxifier. (See the download link below) The Maxifier runs minimized in the system tray and you access the options by right-clicking on the icon. If Media Center is not already open, you can choose Start Media Center to start WMC on the main start screen. Or, choose one of the other selections to open another area of Media Center. By default, Maxifier opens Media Center in full screen mode on the secondary monitor. When Media Center is open in full screen mode, you’ll notice you can now freely move your mouse around your multi-monitor setup. When Media Center is open, you’ll see five additional options. The Fit Screen options simply fits Media Center to the full screen, but still show the Windows borders. Full screen options put WMC in full screen mode.   The Maxifier Options allow you to choose from the various start up options. Selecting Watch for Media Center starting will prompt Maxifier to open WMC to the main start page in full screen mode on the secondary monitor automatically, even if you open Media Center without using The Maxifier.  (You may need to restart for this to take effect) If you have more than 2 monitors, you can define on which monitor to open Media Center, and which monitor you consider to be the main screen.   You can also define a number of Hotkeys in The Maxifier settings. First, select the Enable Hotkeys checkbox. To create a Hotkey, click in the text field and then press the keys to use as the Hotkey. To remove a Hotkey, click in the field and press the Delete key.   Conclusion The Maxifier is a simple program that enables Media Center users to take full advantage of a multi-monitor workspace. It works with both Vista and Windows 7. Version 1.4 is a stable application for Vista, and Version 1.5b is a beta application for Windows 7. Looking for more Media Center tips and tweaks? Check out some startup customizations for Windows 7 Media Center, how to automatically mount and view ISO’s in WMC, and how to add background images and themes to Windows 7 Media Center. Link Download the Maxifier Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Startup Customizations for Media Center in Windows 7Using Netflix Watchnow in Windows Vista Media Center (Gmedia)Lock The Screen While in Full-Screen Mode in Windows Media PlayerSwitch Windows by Hovering the Mouse Over a Window in Windows 7 or VistaIntegrate Boxee with Media Center in Windows 7 TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips HippoRemote Pro 2.2 Xobni Plus for Outlook All My Movies 5.9 CloudBerry Online Backup 1.5 for Windows Home Server Steve Jobs’ iPhone 4 Keynote Video Watch World Cup Online On These Sites Speed Up Windows With ReadyBoost Awesome World Cup Soccer Calendar Nice Websites To Watch TV Shows Online 24 Million Sites

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  • Oracle Text query parser

    - by Roger Ford
    Oracle Text provides a rich query syntax which enables powerful text searches.However, this syntax isn't intended for use by inexperienced end-users.  If you provide a simple search box in your application, you probably want users to be able to type "Google-like" searches into the box, and have your application convert that into something that Oracle Text understands.For example if your user types "windows nt networking" then you probably want to convert this into something like"windows ACCUM nt ACCUM networking".  But beware - "NT" is a reserved word, and needs to be escaped.  So let's escape all words:"{windows} ACCUM {nt} ACCUM {networking}".  That's fine - until you start introducing wild cards. Then you must escape only non-wildcarded searches:"win% ACCUM {nt} ACCUM {networking}".  There are quite a few other "gotchas" that you might encounter along the way.Then there's the issue of scoring.  Given a query for "oracle text query syntax", it would be nice if we could score a full phrase match higher than a hit where all four words are present but not in a phrase.  And then perhaps lower than that would be a document where three of the four terms are present.  Progressive relaxation helps you with this, but you need to code the "progression" yourself in most cases.To help with this, I've developed a query parser which will take queries in Google-like syntax, and convert them into Oracle Text queries. It's designed to be as flexible as possible, and will generate either simple queries or progressive relaxation queries. The input string will typically just be a string of words, such as "oracle text query syntax" but the grammar does allow for more complex expressions:  word : score will be improved if word exists  +word : word must exist  -word : word CANNOT exist  "phrase words" : words treated as phrase (may be preceded by + or -)  field:(expression) : find expression (which allows +,- and phrase as above) within "field". So for example if I searched for   +"oracle text" query +syntax -ctxcatThen the results would have to contain the phrase "oracle text" and the word syntax. Any documents mentioning ctxcat would be excluded from the results. All the instructions are in the top of the file (see "Downloads" at the bottom of this blog entry).  Please download the file, read the instructions, then try it out by running "parser.pls" in either SQL*Plus or SQL Developer.I am also uploading a test file "test.sql". You can run this and/or modify it to run your own tests or run against your own text index. test.sql is designed to be run from SQL*Plus and may not produce useful output in SQL Developer (or it may, I haven't tried it).I'm putting the code up here for testing and comments. I don't consider it "production ready" at this point, but would welcome feedback.  I'm particularly interested in comments such as "The instructions are unclear - I couldn't figure out how to do XXX" "It didn't work in my environment" (please provide as many details as possible) "We can't use it in our application" (why not?) "It needs to support XXX feature" "It produced an invalid query output when I fed in XXXX" Downloads: parser.pls test.sql

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  • Implementing Database Settings Using Policy Based Management

    - by Ashish Kumar Mehta
    Introduction Database Administrators have always had a tough time to ensuring that all the SQL Servers administered by them are configured according to the policies and standards of organization. Using SQL Server’s  Policy Based Management feature DBAs can now manage one or more instances of SQL Server 2008 and check for policy compliance issues. In this article we will utilize Policy Based Management (aka Declarative Management Framework or DMF) feature of SQL Server to implement and verify database settings on all production databases. It is best practice to enforce the below settings on each Production database. However, it can be tedious to go through each database and then check whether the below database settings are implemented across databases. In this article I will explain it to you how to utilize the Policy Based Management Feature of SQL Server 2008 to create a policy to verify these settings on all databases and in cases of non-complaince how to bring them back into complaince. Database setting to enforce on each user database : Auto Close and Auto Shrink Properties of database set to False Auto Create Statistics and Auto Update Statistics set to True Compatibility Level of all the user database set as 100 Page Verify set as CHECKSUM Recovery Model of all user database set to Full Restrict Access set as MULTI_USER Configure a Policy to Verify Database Settings 1. Connect to SQL Server 2008 Instance using SQL Server Management Studio 2. In the Object Explorer, Click on Management > Policy Management and you will be able to see Policies, Conditions & Facets as child nodes 3. Right click Policies and then select New Policy…. from the drop down list as shown in the snippet below to open the  Create New Policy Popup window. 4. In the Create New Policy popup window you need to provide the name of the policy as “Implementing and Verify Database Settings for Production Databases” and then click the drop down list under Check Condition. As highlighted in the snippet below click on the New Condition… option to open up the Create New Condition window. 5. In the Create New Condition popup window you need to provide the name of the condition as “Verify and Change Database Settings”. In the Facet drop down list you need to choose the Facet as Database Options as shown in the snippet below. Under Expression you need to select Field value as @AutoClose and then choose Operator value as ‘ = ‘ and finally choose Value as False. Now that you have successfully added the first field you can now go ahead and add rest of the fields as shown in the snippet below. Once you have successfully added all the above shown fields of Database Options Facet, click OK to save the changes and to return to the parent Create New Policy – Implementing and Verify Database Settings for Production Database windows where you will see that the newly created condition “Verify and Change Database Settings” is selected by default. Continues…

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  • A Forming Repository of Script Samples for Automating Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8

    - by Jialiang
    Compared with Windows Server 2008/R2 that provides about 230 cmdlets, Windows Server 2012 beats that by a factor of over 10 shipping ~ 2,430 cmdlets.  You can automate almost every aspect of the server.   The new PowerShell 3.0, like Windows Server 2012, has a ton of new features.  In this automation script-centric move, Microsoft All-In-One Script Framework (AIOSF) is ready to support IT Pros with many new services and offerings coming this year.  We sincerely hope that the IT community will benefit from the effort. Here is the first one among our new services and offerings:  The team is preparing a large set of Windows 8 / Windows Server 2012 script samples based on frequently asked IT tasks that we collect in TechNet forums and support calls to Microsoft.   Because the script topics come from frequently asked IT tasks, we hope that these script samples can be helpful to many IT Pros worldwide.   With the General Availability of Windows Server 2012, we release the first three Windows Server 2012 / Windows 8 script samples today.    Get Network Adapter Properties in Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 (PowerShell) http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Get-Network-Adapter-37c5a913 Description: This script could be used to get network adapter properties and advanced properties in Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8. It combines the outputs of Get-NetAdapter and Get-NetAdapterAdvancedProperty. It can generate a report of network adapter configuration settings. Use Scenarios: In a real world, IT Administrators are required to check the configuration of network adapters after the deployment of new servers. One typical example is the duplex setting of network adapters. Also, IT administrators need to maintain a server list which contains network adapter configuration settings in a regular basis. Before Windows Server 2012, IT administrators often feel difficulties to handle these tasks. Acknowledgement: Thanks Greg Gu from AIOSF for collecting this script topic, and writing the script sample.  Thanks James Adams (Microsoft Premier Field Engineer) for reviewing the script sample and ensuring its quality.   How to batch create virtual machines in Windows Server 2012 (PowerShell) http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/How-to-batch-create-9efd1811 Description: This PowerShell Script illustrates how to batch create multiple virtual machines based on comma delimited file by using PowerShell 3.0 in Windows Server 2012. Use Scenarios: IT admin requires to batch creating virtual machines in Windows Server 2012, although they can use few commands due to the lack of programming knowledge. Although it’s a set of Hyper-V command-lets within Windows PowerShell, IT Admins are reluctant to use them except simple a command which is widely used. Acknowledgement: Thanks Anders Wang from AIOSF for collecting this script topic and writing the script sample.  Thanks Christopher Norris for reviewing the script sample and ensuring its quality before publishing.   Remove Windows Store Apps in Windows 8 (PowerShell) http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Remove-Windows-Store-Apps-a00ef4a4 Description: This script can be used to remove multiple Windows Store Apps from a user account in Windows 8. It provides a list of installed Windows Store applications. You can specify the application IDs, and remove them all at once. Use Scenarios: 1. In Windows 8, you can remove a single Windows Store App by right-clicking the tile in the Start menu and choosing the uninstall command.  However, no command is provided for removing multiple Windows Store Apps all at once. If you want to do so, you can use this script sample. 2. Sometimes Windows Store Apps may crash in Windows 8.  Even though you can successfully uninstall and reinstall the App, the application may still crash after the reinstallation.  In this situation, you can use this example script to remove these Windows Store Apps cleanly. Acknowledgement: Thanks Edward Qi from AIOSF for collecting the script idea and composing the script sample.  Thanks James Adams (Microsoft Premier Field Engineer) for reviewing the script sample and ensuring its quality.   This is just the beginning, and more and more script samples are coming.  You can follow our blog (http://blogs.technet.com/b/onescript) to get the latest customer-driven script samples for Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8.

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  • SQLUG Events - London/Edinburgh/Cardiff/Reading - Masterclass, NoSQL, TSQL Gotcha's, Replication, BI

    - by tonyrogerson
    We have acquired two additional tickets to attend the SQL Server Master Class with Paul Randal and Kimberly Tripp next Thurs (17th June), for a chance to win these coveted tickets email us ([email protected]) before 9pm this Sunday with the subject "MasterClass" - people previously entered need not worry - your still in with a chance. The winners will be announced Monday morning.As ever plenty going on physically, we've got dates for a stack of events in Manchester and Leeds, I'm looking at Birmingham if anybody has ideas? We are growing our online community with the Cuppa Corner section, to participate online remember to use the #sqlfaq twitter tag; for those wanting to get more involved in presenting and fancy trying it out we are always after people to do 1 - 5 minute SQL nuggets or Cuppa Corners (short presentations) at any of these User Group events - just email us [email protected] removing from this email list? Then just reply with remove please on the subject line.Kimberly Tripp and Paul Randal Master Class - Thurs, 17th June - LondonREGISTER NOW AND GET A SECOND REGISTRATION FREE*The top things YOU need to know about managing SQL Server - in one place, on one day - presented by two of the best SQL Server industry trainers!This one-day MasterClass will focus on many of the top issues companies face when implementing and maintaining a SQL Server-based solution. In the case where a company has no dedicated DBA, IT managers sometimes struggle to keep the data tier performing well and the data available. This can be especially troublesome when the development team is unfamiliar with the affect application design choices have on database performance.The Microsoft SQL Server MasterClass 2010 is presented by Paul S. Randal and Kimberly L. Tripp, two of the most experienced and respected people in the SQL Server world. Together they have over 30 years combined experience working with SQL Server in the field, and on the SQL Server product team itself. This is a unique opportunity to hear them present at a UK event which will:>> Debunk many of the ingrained misconceptions around SQL Server's behaviour >> Show you disaster recovery techniques critical to preserving your company's life-blood - the data >> Explain how a common application design pattern can wreak havoc in the database >> Walk through the top-10 points to follow around operations and maintenance for a well-performing and available data tier! Where: Radisson Edwardian Heathrow Hotel, LondonWhen: Thursday 17th June 2010*REGISTER TODAY AT www.regonline.co.uk/kimtrippsql on the registration form simply quote discount code: BOGOF for both yourself and your colleague and you will save 50% off each registration – that’s a 249 GBP saving! This offer is limited, book early to avoid disappointment.Wed, 23 JunREADINGEvening Meeting, More info and registerIntroduction to NoSQL (Not Only SQL) - Gavin Payne; T-SQL Gotcha's and how to avoid them - Ashwani Roy; Introduction to Recency Frequency - Tony Rogerson; Reporting Services - Tim LeungThu, 24 JunCARDIFFEvening Meeting, More info and registerAlex Whittles of Purple Frog Systems talks about Data warehouse design case studies, Other BI related session TBC Mon, 28 JunEDINBURGHEvening Meeting, More info and registerReplication (Components, Adminstration, Performance and Troubleshooting) - Neil Hambly Server Upgrades (Notes and Best practice from the field) - Satya Jayanty Wed, 14 JulLONDONEvening Meeting, More info and registerMeeting is being sponsored by DBSophic (http://www.dbsophic.com/download), database optimisation software. Physical Join Operators in SQL Server - Ami LevinWorkload Tuning - Ami LevinSQL Server and Disk IO (File Groups/Files, SSD's, Fusion-IO, In-RAM DB's, Fragmentation) - Tony RogersonComplex Event Processing - Allan MitchellMany thanks,Tony Rogerson, SQL Server MVPUK SQL Server User Grouphttp://sqlserverfaq.com"

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  • Big Data – Operational Databases Supporting Big Data – Key-Value Pair Databases and Document Databases – Day 13 of 21

    - by Pinal Dave
    In yesterday’s blog post we learned the importance of the Relational Database and NoSQL database in the Big Data Story. In this article we will understand the role of Key-Value Pair Databases and Document Databases Supporting Big Data Story. Now we will see a few of the examples of the operational databases. Relational Databases (Yesterday’s post) NoSQL Databases (Yesterday’s post) Key-Value Pair Databases (This post) Document Databases (This post) Columnar Databases (Tomorrow’s post) Graph Databases (Tomorrow’s post) Spatial Databases (Tomorrow’s post) Key Value Pair Databases Key Value Pair Databases are also known as KVP databases. A key is a field name and attribute, an identifier. The content of that field is its value, the data that is being identified and stored. They have a very simple implementation of NoSQL database concepts. They do not have schema hence they are very flexible as well as scalable. The disadvantages of Key Value Pair (KVP) database are that they do not follow ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) properties. Additionally, it will require data architects to plan for data placement, replication as well as high availability. In KVP databases the data is stored as strings. Here is a simple example of how Key Value Database will look like: Key Value Name Pinal Dave Color Blue Twitter @pinaldave Name Nupur Dave Movie The Hero As the number of users grow in Key Value Pair databases it starts getting difficult to manage the entire database. As there is no specific schema or rules associated with the database, there are chances that database grows exponentially as well. It is very crucial to select the right Key Value Pair Database which offers an additional set of tools to manage the data and provides finer control over various business aspects of the same. Riak Rick is one of the most popular Key Value Database. It is known for its scalability and performance in high volume and velocity database. Additionally, it implements a mechanism for collection key and values which further helps to build manageable system. We will further discuss Riak in future blog posts. Key Value Databases are a good choice for social media, communities, caching layers for connecting other databases. In simpler words, whenever we required flexibility of the data storage keeping scalability in mind – KVP databases are good options to consider. Document Database There are two different kinds of document databases. 1) Full document Content (web pages, word docs etc) and 2) Storing Document Components for storage. The second types of the document database we are talking about over here. They use Javascript Object Notation (JSON) and Binary JSON for the structure of the documents. JSON is very easy to understand language and it is very easy to write for applications. There are two major structures of JSON used for Document Database – 1) Name Value Pairs and 2) Ordered List. MongoDB and CouchDB are two of the most popular Open Source NonRelational Document Database. MongoDB MongoDB databases are called collections. Each collection is build of documents and each document is composed of fields. MongoDB collections can be indexed for optimal performance. MongoDB ecosystem is highly available, supports query services as well as MapReduce. It is often used in high volume content management system. CouchDB CouchDB databases are composed of documents which consists fields and attachments (known as description). It supports ACID properties. The main attraction points of CouchDB are that it will continue to operate even though network connectivity is sketchy. Due to this nature CouchDB prefers local data storage. Document Database is a good choice of the database when users have to generate dynamic reports from elements which are changing very frequently. A good example of document usages is in real time analytics in social networking or content management system. Tomorrow In tomorrow’s blog post we will discuss about various other Operational Databases supporting Big Data. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: Big Data, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL

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  • SQL SERVER – Clustered Index and Primary Key – Contest Win Joes 2 Pros Combo (USD 198) – Day 3 of 5

    - by pinaldave
    August 2011 we ran a contest where every day we give away one book for an entire month. The contest had extreme success. Lots of people participated and lots of give away. I have received lots of questions if we are doing something similar this month. Absolutely, instead of running a contest a month long we are doing something more interesting. We are giving away USD 198 worth gift every day for this week. We are giving away Joes 2 Pros 5 Volumes (BOOK) SQL 2008 Development Certification Training Kit every day. One copy in India and One in USA. Total 2 of the giveaway (worth USD 198). All the gifts are sponsored from the Koenig Training Solution and Joes 2 Pros. The books are available here Amazon | Flipkart | Indiaplaza How to Win: Read the Question Read the Hints Answer the Quiz in Contact Form in following format Question Answer Name of the country (The contest is open for USA and India residents only) 2 Winners will be randomly selected announced on August 20th. Question of the Day: Which of the following datatype is usually NOT the best choice for Primary Key and Clustered Index? a) INT b) BIGINT c) GUID d) SMALLINT Query Hints: BIG HINT POST The clustered index is the placement order of a table’s records in memory pages. When you insert new records, then each record will be inserted into the memory page in the order it belongs. In the figure below we see another new record (Major Disarray) being inserted, in sequence, between Jonny and Rick. Since there is no room in this memory page, some records will need to shift around. The page split occurs when Irenes’ record moves to the second page. Page splits are considered very bad for performance, and there are a number of techniques to reduce, or even eliminate, the risk of page splits. You can create a clustered index on the table on any field you choose. Sometime SQL will create a clustered index for you. Often times the field having the Primary Key makes a great candidate for the clustered index. Additional Hints: I have previously discussed various concepts from SQL Server Joes 2 Pros Volume 3. SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – All about SQL Statistics SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Introduction to Page Split SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – The Clustered Index – Simple Understanding SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Geography Data Type – Calculating Distance Between Two Points on the Earth SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Sparse Data and Space Used by Sparse Data SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – System and Time Data Types SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Data Row Space Usage and NULL Storage Next Step: Answer the Quiz in Contact Form in following format Question Answer Name of the country (The contest is open for USA and India) Bonus Winner Leave a comment with your favorite article from the “additional hints” section and you may be eligible for surprise gift. There is no country restriction for this Bonus Contest. Do mention why you liked it any particular blog post and I will announce the winner of the same along with the main contest. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: Joes 2 Pros, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Puzzle, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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