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August 26, 1998 (revised 8/27/98) Dear SQL Server Professionals, This is another update message about the Heartland Users Groups' SQL Server SIG. This e-mail message was sent to you as a 'blind copy' to protect your privacy. Please feel free to forward this message on to whomever you feel may have an interest in the Heartland Users Groups and/or the SQL Server SIG. If you wish to be removed from this e-mail list simply send a reply to this message and indicate so. RECAP OF AUGUST 19th SQL SERVER SIG MEETING ************************************************************ 1. We had approximately 35 persons in attendance at this, our inaugural meeting. Thanks to everyone who attended! 2. Effective immediately and until the end of 1998, SQL Server SIG meetings will commence at 5:30 PM. Based on feedback, we may decide to have meetings in 1999 and beyond at a later hour. 3. Effective October 22, 1998 and until the end of 1998, AIC (Analysts International Corporation) will be the place for SQL Server SIG meetings. AIC's offices are located in the Broadway Summit Building at 3101 Broadway, Suite 101, Kansas City, MO. Please note that the September 16th meeting will still be held at Empower (same place as the August meeting). 4. Effective November 5, 1998, the regular meeting day of the month for the SQL Server SIG will be the FIRST THURSDAY of the month. 5. The following is the calendar of SQL Server SIG meetings for the rest of 1998: a. September 1998: Wed. 09/16/98 @ 5:30 PM at Empower, 2600 Grand, Suite 400 b. October 1998: Thurs. 10/22/98 @ 5:30 PM at AIC, 3101 Broadway, Suite 101 c. November 1998: Thurs. 11/05/98 @ 5:30 PM at AIC, 3101 Broadway, Suite 101 d. December 1998: Thurs. 12/03/98 @ 5:30 PM at AIC, 3101 Broadway, Suite 101 6. At the meeting I circulated a survey to help us determine future meeting topics. Twenty persons responded. Here is a summary of the results: a. 80% of respondents consider themselves "beginners" or "intermediate" users of SQL Server (45% beginners, 35% intermediate) b. 70% of respondents have used SQL Server 6.5 c. 35% of respondents have used the SQL Server 7.0 beta d. Respondents indicated the #1 reason for attending SQL Server SIG meetings is to "Learn about SQL Server features that I am not already familiar with." e. Respondents indicated the #2 reason for attending SQL Server SIG meetings is to "Advance my knowledge about SQL Server features that I am already familiar with." f. The top 6 topics of interest for future meetings are (in order): [1] Configuration and Tuning of SQL Server [2] Logical Design / Data Modeling [3] Writing Stored Procedures / Triggers [4] Physical Implementation [5] Database standards (like ODBC and OLE-DB) [6] Query Optimization / effective indexing techniques Please let me know if you have additional feedback for helping us determine topics for future meetings, and please let me know if you would like to be a speaker at a future meeting for any of the above topics. 7. The meeting's "main event" was Al Zyck from Microsoft, who presented the new features and capabilities of SQL Server 7.0. SQL Server 7.0 is an improvement over SQL Server 6.5 in the areas of: Performance, reliability, and scalability, Ease of Use, Replication, Desktop/Mobile Systems, Data Warehousing, and Internet. SQL Server 7.0 features an improved Relational Engine, Storage Engine, Utilities, Data Warehousing Services, and Decision Support Services. My personal favorite is that the physical storage model has been changed to eliminate chained data pages. This means DBCCs as we know them today will be much less of a headache and will run much faster. A close second favorite new feature is that ALTER TABLE will now let you DROP COLUMN. One drawback is that existing SQL Server 6.5 data will have to be converted into SQL Server 7.0's new 8k page structure. SQL Server 7.0 comes with a data migration wizard or you can unload/reload the data by traditional means (i.e., BCP). See the following web page for all the details about SQL Server 7.0's new features and capabilities: http://www.microsoft.com/sql/beta/default.asp . Al also gave us a demonstration of the relative ease at which end-users can utilize SQL Server 7.0's new data warehousing capabilities. Al also recommended we consider reading the following books: Inside Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 (Microsoft Programming Series) by Ron Soukup (Microsoft Press), The Data Warehouse Toolkit : Practical Techniques for Building Dimensional Data Warehouses by Ralph Kimball (John Wiley & Sons), and Understanding and Implementing Successful Datamarts by Douglas Hackney (Addison-Wesley Publishing Company). See the following web page for links to these books: http://home.gvi.net/~spyder/sqlreading.html . Unfortunately, we did not have copies of the SQL Server 7.0 beta available at the meeting. However, if you want your own copy of the beta, simply send me an e-mail message or call me and I will send one to you. My contact information is at the bottom of this e-mail message. You may also request a copy of the beta directly from Microsoft at the following web page: http://www.microsoft.com/sql/beta/default.asp . 8. Congratulations to Mark Davis of One System Group (OSG) for winning the door-prize drawing. Mark won a copy of the book Teach Yourself SQL Server 6.5 in 21 Days from Sams Publishing. Mark, your book report is due at the next meeting (just kidding). 9. Special thanks to: a. Al Zyck of Microsoft for being our speaker and for driving in from Omaha, Nebraska and back on the same day. b. Mike Mizell and Platinum Software for furnishing the pizzas and tee-shirt for our give-away. c. Empower Training Consultants and Chad Means for furnishing the place for the meeting, soft drinks, and freshly-baked cookies. d. Rob Kraft, Chad Means, and Robin Prinzing for staying after the meeting to help clean up. e. Matt Crouch and Analysts International Corporation (AIC) for providing us a place for our October, November, and December 1998 meetings. f. all of the Heartland Users Groups' officers and SIG leaders who attended and provided moral support for my first meeting. SEPTEMBER 16th SQL SERVER SIG MEETING ************************************************************ The September SQL Server SIG meeting will be on Wednesday, September 16, 1998 at 5:30 PM. This meeting will be held at the offices of Empower Training Consultants located at 2600 Grand, Suite 400. This building is located SOUTHEAST of the Westin Crown Center hotel. Please park in the lot on the east side of Grand Street across the street from this building. The speaker for this meeting will be Sean Baird of Empower, who will be addressing "SQL Server Performance Tuning and Optimization: Tips and Tricks". This same presentation will be given at the MCP Tech Mentor conference later this year. Sean is a project manager, technical architect, and co-author of "MCSE Training Guide: SQL Server 6.5 Design and Implementation" (New Riders) and is currently working on another book for SQL Server DBAs. We will also continue to accept nominations for SQL Server SIG officers at this meeting. Please let me know if you would like to add any agenda items for this meeting. OCTOBER 22nd SQL SERVER SIG MEETING ************************************************************ The October SQL Server SIG meeting will be held on Thursday, October 22, 1998 at 5:30 PM. This meeting will be held at the offices of AIC, located in the Broadway Summit Building, 3101 Broadway, Suite 101, Kansas City, MO. This building is situated on the SOUTHEAST corner of 31st Street and Broadway. AIC's offices are on the first floor. Please use the entrance located on the SOUTH side of the building. Parking in the building lot is FREE. We still need to decide on a topic and a speaker for this meeting. We will be electing SIG officers at this meeting. BE A SQL SERVER SIG OFFICER ************************************************************ For the next few months I will continue to act as the SQL Server SIG's provisional leader; however, we need to have official elections of SQL Server SIG officers. Interested parties are encouraged to nominate themselves for any of the following five offices: president, vice-president, programs committee chair, membership committee chair, or treasurer. See the following web page for descriptions of the duties of these offices: http://home.gvi.net/~spyder/sqlofficers.html . Elections will be held at the Thursday, October 22, 1998 meeting. The following persons have been nominated thus far: Bob Van Cleave - nominated for treasurer, Brent Huscher - nominated for president. Call or send me an e-mail message if you are interested. UPCOMING HEARTLAND USERS GROUPS EVENTS ***************************************************************** All Heartland Users Groups' meetings are open to the general public. Joining the Heartland Users Groups entitles you to receive door prizes and the monthly newsletter. Please consider joining -- an annual membership is only $25.00. You can obtain a membership form at any of the Heartland Users Groups' events. Here is a partial calendar of upcoming Heartland Users Groups events: Monday, August 31, 1998 at 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM HUG Board Meeting (for HUG officers and SIG leaders) At Security Benefit Companies Corporate Woods, Building #27, Suite 150, OP, KS (northeast of College BLVD and Grandview RD) Wednesday, September 2, 1998 at 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM Microsoft Dev Days Among other things, Dev Days will highlight the new database design and programming tools in Microsoft's Visual Studio 6.0 suite of applications. See http://www.microsoft.com/devdays/ for details and registration information. Wednesday, September 2, 1998 at 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM JAVA SIG; JAVA tutorial (first session) At Step 1, Inc. 10551 Barkley, Suite 117, OP, KS See http://www.qni.com/~brisk/JavaSIG/Default.html for details Wednesday, September 9, 1998 at 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM C++ SIG; Ch. 12 of "C++ from the ground up" book & "Source code documentation tools" At Step 1, Inc. 10551 Barkley, Suite 117, OP, KS See http://www.kcx.com/c/ for details Saturday, September 12, 1998 at 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM Win 9x/NT SIG; topic TBA At COMP-USA 11421 Metcalf, OP, KS Tuesday, September 15, 1998 at 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Smalltalk SIG; Progressor Framework, Monty's browser enhancements At Information Systems Corp. City Center Square, 1110 Main, Suite 1540, KC, MO See http://www.kcx.com/smalltalk for details Wednesday, September 16, 1998 at 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM SQL Server SIG; Performance Tuning & Optimization At Empower 2600 Grand, Suite 400, KC, MO See http://home.gvi.net/~spyder/sqlserver.html for details Wednesday, September 16, 1998 at 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Access SIG; topic TBA At Johnson County Community College Room TBA, OP, KS See http://www.kcx.com/accessvb/logon.asp for details Monday, September 21, 1998 at 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM General Meeting; "Riding the Waves of Technology" presentation by Greg Reiss of Baan At Johnson County Community College Room TBA, OP, KS see http://www.hugkc.org for details Tuesday, September 22, 1998 at 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM `Visual Basic SIG; "Activating Controls & Error Handling" At Johnson County Community College Room TBA, OP, KS See http://www.kcx.com/accessvb/logon.asp for details SQL SERVER JOB OPPORTUNITY ************************************************************ A large Systems Integration company located in Columbus, OH is currently looking for an experienced SQL Server DBA. This is a permanent position that requires candidates to possess at least 2 years of experience as a SQL Server DBA. Salary depends on the amount of experience. There will also be a signing bonus as well as paid relocation by the company upon an offer. If interested please e-mail or call: Randall & Nord, L.L.C. Matt Bruce, Account Manager Ph. 972-278-9935 Fax 972-840-2565 bruce@rannord.com http://www.rannord.com MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS ************************************************************ We still need to determine a discussion topic and presenter for the October 22nd meeting. If you would like to volunteer to present at this or any other upcoming meeting, please contact me by phone or e-mail. The Heartland Users Groups' home page is at: http://www.hugkc.org . The SQL Server SIG's home page is at: http://home.gvi.net/~spyder/sqlserver.html . Feel free to offer any ideas for improving the SQL Server SIG's page or for adding any links. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, criticisms, and/or referrals of persons who may be potentially interested in the SQL Server SIG.