SQL Server Samples

AdventureWorks 2008R2 November CTP is now live on CodePlex!

bonniefe — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:31:00 GMT

The AdventureWorks 2008R2 November CTP sample databases are now live on CodePlex at http://msftdbprodsamples.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=24854! This is a beta quality release. We’re still addressing some relatively minor issues that came up during testing, but we feel that the sample databases will be very helpful to have now that SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP is available on MSDN, so we’re publishing what we have so far. We’ll be addressing some issues and looking carefully at feedback as we work our next update for SQL Server 2008R2.

Here are the key improvements we have delivered with this release compared with SQL Server 2008:

· All dates have been incremented by 4 years. This is a requested change and helps keep the data looking relevant.

· Product descriptions in the data warehouse have been localized into 73 new languages. A new table has been added to store this new localized content.

· Scripts have been updated to use new names for the databases (AdventureWorks2008R2, AdventureWorksDW2008R2, AdventureWorksLT2008R2) so that the updated databases can live side by side with the SQL Server 2008 sample databases.

· A new approach to installing the databases has been implemented. This approach provides more targeted feedback when issues (such as an incorrectly configured server) arise and provides links to detailed help. It addresses some issues folks have had with previous installers.

Please let us know what you think of the new installer. If folks feel it is better than the previous installer then we can reissue the SQL Server 2008 sample databases using this same technology. Note that you can install the SQL Server 2008R2 sample databases on SQL Server 2008 if you wish.

SQL Server 2008 (Katmai) October 2009 Samples Refresh 3 Available

bonniefe — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:08:00 GMT

SQL Server 2008 (Katmai) October 2009 Samples Refresh 3 is now available.

SQL Server 2008 (Katmai) Product Samples Refresh 3 is now live at http://sqlserversamples.codeplex.com/. There are numerous bug fixes and a new sample, RSPermissions which demonstrates how to write an application which manages Reporting Services permissions via the Reporting Services Web Service API. There is also a refresh of the AdventureWorks family of sample databases at http://msftdbprodsamples.codeplex.com/. There are no changes to the databases themselves, but the installers have been improved.

SQL Server 2008R2 (KJ) samples and sample databases are not yet available. We are working on that and we'll announce when they are ready in this blog.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this release.

VS/SSMS settings and the Fault Retry functionality

bonniefe — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:20:00 GMT

Doug Holland (a C# MVP) has opened two work items in Connect. The first one is about being able to share settings between VS and SSMS for those of us who do both DBA and developer work. You shouldn't have to specify font, color, or tab settings twice, or at least you should be able to import settings. The second one is a request to put the functionality in the Fault Retry Provider sample into SQL Server and ADO.NET. I think that is a wonderful idea. I've voted for both items, and added a comment to the second one. I encourage you all to take a look at these and vote if you agree. Thanks!

SSMS settings import / export.
https://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=429646

SQL Fault Retry Provider
https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=429652

The transition to community based development

bonniefe — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:49:00 GMT

The times they are a changin'

When I first started working on code to share with the SQL Community that code shipped in the box with very little community participation. Over the years my job has changed and so has the processes we use to create open source samples and tools that we share with you. So much has changed, much of it in the last few months. We now keep our master sources for all samples on CodePlex itself, rather than publishing the source code to CodePlex. We now also keep all our bugs on CodePlex as work items. Instead of scattering forums across many different CodePlex projects, we now have a single samples forum (http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-us/sqlserversamples/threads) where all open source issues related to SQL Server can be and are being discussed. I'm very excited about these changes because they raise the level of interaction among many diverse community members both within and outside of Microsoft, and in my book that is a very good thing. This approach also provides much more transparency into what we are doing, and gives community members much more opportunity (if you choose to participate) in what we do together.

Thank you all very much for your help in building a vibrant SQL Server community.

New step-by-step instructions for installing sample databases

bonniefe — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:02:00 GMT

The new sample database installers which shipped at the end of October 2008 greatly simplify the installation process for the sample databases. For one thing, there are only three installers to choose from instead of tens of installers. Just pick the install that is right for the architecture of the machine you'll be installing on (x86, x64, or IA64). Step by step installation instructions can be found at here.

The new installers create the databases using scripts and CSV files rather than attaching MDF/LDF files or restoring backup files. This means that the databases will be created with the default collation of the server rather than us picking one or the other for you. Because they create all the sample databases, you don't have so many installers to pick from. Things should just work. Thanks for your patience while we've been working out the issues with the installers. Please let us know what you think about them.

Fault Retry provider and sample

bonniefe — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:58:00 GMT

Have you ever tried using high availability technology like SQL Server database mirroring and been surprised when your ADO.NET client didn't seemlessly switch from the principal to the failover partner but instead reported an exception? The Fault Retry provider and sample (http://www.codeplex.com/SqlFaultRetryProvide/Wiki/View.aspx?title=Home) may be your ticket to a smoother high availability experience. This project demonstrates provides a complete custom .NET data provider which automatically retries operations which have failed for certain types of transient exceptions. By putting the retry logic in a custom data provider it avoids the problem where retry logic is sprinkled around different parts of a high availability application, but instead centralizes it in one specific spot. It also allows retries in places which are hard to wrap try/catch blocks around (for example in a data binding scenario). Included with the custom data provider is a WPF based application which demonstrates how you might use this provider in a simple but realistic client application.

There are some limitations to the approach used. Check out the detailed documentation on the home page for more details. Please let us know if this project is useful and how we can work together to improve it. If you would like to contribute please let me know. Thanks!

October 2008 SQL Server Samples Refresh

bonniefe — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 04:50:00 GMT

We've completed an October refresh of the SQL Server 2008 samples (http://CodePlex.com/SqlServerSamples). We've heard from you that the install experience for the databases was too complex and error prone. In this refresh we're providing a much simpler install experience with a lot fewer database installers to choose from. Please let us know how you like this new approach.

If you haven't been to the CodePlex SQL Server samples portal page in a while it's worth another look. We've got lots of community based projects going on.

Thanks for trying out SQL Server 2008 and 2005 samples. We look forward to working on them with you!

Your feedback

bonniefe — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:15:00 GMT

We're currently creating plans around SQL community and samples for the next 12 months. As we build these plans we want to make sure we're addressing the issues that matter to you. If you have any feedback on your experiences with our community programs or samples now would be a great time to send us your requests, thoughts, or complaints. Feel free to file work items at http://codeplex.com/SqlServerSamples or at http://connect.microsoft.com/. Also, if you could browse existing bugs or suggestions and vote on the ones you would really like to see, we'd appreciate it very much. Thanks for all you do to help us build a better product and a better SQL Server community.

SQL Server 2008 Samples are here!

bonniefe — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:44:00 GMT

SQL Server 2008 samples are now available at http://codeplex.com/SqlServerSamples. That's our portal page to many different product and community projects on CodePlex with samples for SQL Server. On the releases tab of the portal page you'll find installers for downloading all the code samples. If you're looking for the sample databases for SQL Server 2008, you'll find the project at http://www.codeplex.com/MSFTDBProdSamples/. Please look over the content on that page carefully before proceeding to the releases tab for the sample database project (or navigate to http://www.codeplex.com/MSFTDBProdSamples/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx) to download the sample databases and sample database scripts. We have a lot of sample database installers and now zip files for those who have trouble with using the MSI based installers, or who would prefer to inspect the contents before installation. The advantage of using the MSI based installers is that they place the files in an appropriate directory (by default), optionally create shortcuts, and optionally install the databases. A change from SQL Server 2005 and early SQL Server 2008 CTPs is that we now install database backups which are then optionally restored rather than delivering MDF/LDF files which were attached. The backups greatly simplify the deployment of some of the new, exciting features we've put into the v2008 AdventureWorks OLTP sample database which demonstrates cool new features only found in SQL Server 2008. The v2005 sample databases are compatible with the versions we shipped with SQL Server 2005 which can be important if you are running a sample which hasn't been upgraded to use the new schemas we're shipping in the v2008 sample databases. The v2005 and v2008 sample databases use different database names so you should be able to tell by looking at the USE statement in scripts or or the connection string in the sample as to which version of the sample database to use. For example, the v2005 OLTP sample database is named AdventureWorks and the v2008 version of the sample database is named AdventureWorks2008. You can install v2005 and v2008 side by side. There are schema diagrams published which you can use to see the new schema designs. Note that although the v2005 installers are schema compatible with the schemas we shipped for SQL Server 2005, they are not binary compatible. The sample database installers for SQL Server 2005 are still available, and they are located at http://www.codeplex.com/MSFTDBProdSamples/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=4004. There is lots more to say about all the great community and product samples for SQL Server 2008. More blog posts to come!

SQL Server 2008 is here!

bonniefe — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:02:00 GMT

Great news! SQL Server 2008 is now available for download for MSDN subscribers from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/downloads/default.aspx.

We're putting the finishing touches on the samples and should have updated installers available for you in the next few days. I'll blog again when they are ready.

SQLRSS: an open source project for creating an RSS feed from database changes

bonniefe — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:14:00 GMT

Have you ever wanted an RSS feed that displayed changes to a database? SQLRSS (http://codeplex.com/SQLRSS) may be just the ticket for you. This application uses the SQL Server 2008 feature called Change Data Tracking to gather changes made to the database (by any client) and then posts the changes to an RSS feed. The RSS feed can be consumed by many different clients including IE7 and Outlook. Which changes are displayed and how they are displayed is controlled by an XML configuration file and the Change Data Tracking feature in SQL Server 2008. This application is open source so you can see how the following technologies were used together:

Change Data Tracking (CDT) feature of SQL Server 2008
Reporting Services
The syndication feed feature of WCF
LINQ to XML
ADO.NET

Also, because is this an open source community project we encourage you to contact us if you would like to share any bug fixes or extensions to this application.

You can find this project at http://codeplex.com/SQLRSS. Thanks!

SQL Server 2008 RC0 is here!

bonniefe — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 00:43:00 GMT

SQL Server 2008 Release Candidate 0 (RC0) has shipped! You can get RC0 from http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/trial-software.aspx. After you've installed SQL Server 2008, try out the latest batch of samples and sample databases at http://CodePlex.com/SqlServerSamples. New for this release is the rest of the AdventureWorks 2008 family of sample databases including AWAS2008 (the analysis services database) and AWLT2008 (the light weight AdventureWorks OLTP database for 2008). There are also some new OLEDB and ODBC samples.

At CodePlex you can browse the source code for samples without downloading, and then download just the samples from the particular sample area you want. Or, if you like, you can download all of the sample code all at once. The sample databases can be downloaded from http://www.codeplex.com/MSFTDBProdSamples/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx. You may notice our installers are sporting a new look and a new UI. We hope these installers will be the easiest ones to use yet.

As we get close to completing SQL Server 2008 we begin to naturally look forward to the next thing. If you have input on where you would like more samples or if you have some ideas around SQL Server and community software development I hope you'll add a comment to this blog entry. If there is some way we can help you be more effective in your job please let us know.

SQL Heroes Contest

bonniefe — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 01:56:00 GMT

There is a community sample contest just kicking off now. Contribute the sources for a tool or sample you think would benefit the SQL Server community and you could win a home server! The rules are at http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlheroes/pages/sql-heroes-2008-official-contest-rules.aspx.

The AdventureWorks 2008 Family of Sample Databases

bonniefe — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:43:00 GMT

There is a new AdventureWorks family of sample databases available for SQL Server 2008 February CTP at https://www.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ProjectName=MSFTDBProdSamples. The AdventureWorks 2008 family of databases demonstrates some of the new features of SQL Server 2008. This family of databases can only be used with SQL Server 2008 and will not install successfully for earlier versions of SQL Server. The original AdventureWorks family continues to ship for SQL Server 2008, so you have a choice of staying with the compatible schema or trying out the new SQL Server 2008 features depending on which installers you download. The installers for the AdventureWorks 2008 family all have 2008 in their names. See the link above for additional details.

Right now most samples are compatible with the AdventureWorks family not the AdventureWorks 2008 family. As samples are migrated to the new schema the readmes for the samples will be updated and sample and snippets scripts will have statements like USE AdventureWorks2008 in them instead of USE AdventureWorks.

SQL Server 2008 Samples February CTP now live at CodePlex!

bonniefe — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:21:00 GMT

SQL Server 2008 February CTP is now live on http://www.microsoft.com/sql/2008/default.mspx. With this wonderful, feature packed CTP we also have some great companion samples and sample databases which you can find at our portal page: http://CodePlex.com/SqlServerSamples. The readme for this sample release is located at http://www.codeplex.com/SqlServerSamples/Wiki/View.aspx?title=SQLServerDatabasesandSamplesOverview. There are lots of new OLE DB and ODBC samples, and the SSIS tutorials are back. See the readme and the individual projects on CodePlex (http://www.codeplex.com/MSFTDPProdSamples/ and http://www.codeplex.com/MSFTISProdSamples/). There are also lots of new cool community projects featured on our portal page. SQL Server 2005 samples and sample databases are also still available. Just be sure to click on SQL Server 2005 SP2a when you use the Releases tab to download the samples and sample databases because the default release is SQL Server 2008.

We welcome feedback in the discussion forums in each CodePlex project, or via http://connect.microsoft.com/. Thank you for participating in the Microsoft SQL Server community.