October Monthly CASSUG Meeting @CASSUG_Albany #SQLFamily #Networking

Greetings, data enthusiasts! Our October meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 9th, at 5:30 pm! We will meet in person at: Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce, 90 4th Street, Troy, NY. Please RSVP at https://www.meetup.com/capital-area-sql-server-user-group/events/295929653/ if you are attending, so we can purchase an appropriate amount of food for everyone. Food is TBA (will be announced closer to the event). …

#SQL101: Raising awareness of SQL injection

(Image credit: XKCD.com) I don't think there's an experienced web developer or DBA who isn't familiar with the classic "Bobby Tables" XKCD cartoon above. Just about any time you mention "Bobby Tables" to most experienced IT people, (s)he will immediately know to whom you are referring. Most experienced web developers and DBAs are aware of …

#SQL101: Create tables from CSV flat files

With my previous article about getting into REST applications, I figured it would be a good idea for me to set up a data source so I could practice. Besides, I had reinstalled SQL Server 2019 on my machine, and I needed to import some data so that I could brush up on my SQL …

#SQL101: Installing #SQLServer 2019 Developer on my laptop

A while back, I wrote about installing SQL Server 2016 on my laptop. Since then, Microsoft has released SQL Server 2019. Additionally, I bought a new laptop last November; my tired old HP 4430s had served me well for several years, but it was showing its age, so I decided it was time to upgrade. …

#SQL101: Developing an introductory presentation to SQL Server

So far, all of my SQL Saturday presentations have been professional development talks -- "soft topics," as they're often described. I don't present about technical topics, but I do present topics that are of interest to technology (and perhaps other) professionals. This is not to say that I don't have technical skills. I do have …

#SQL101: On data types

Previously, I talked about something I saw in the code that built the tables in my baseball database.  I wrote last time about primary keys.  In this article, I want to talk about data types. Let's revisit the code that builds the Batting table again. CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Batting]( [playerID] [varchar](50) NULL, [yearID] [varchar](50) NULL, [stint] …

#SQL101: Setting up a primary key

When I set up my baseball database, I noticed something in the SQL code used to build the tables.  In the CREATE TABLE T-SQL code that was supplied by the Sean Lahman’s baseball database, I saw code that looked like this: CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Batting]( [playerID] [varchar](50) NULL, [yearID] [varchar](50) NULL, [stint] [varchar](50) NULL, [teamID] [varchar](50) …

#SQL101: Installing a Baseball Database

Earlier, I wrote about how I installed SQL Server 2016 on my machine.  In this article, I talk about creating and populating a baseball database. I am a huge baseball fan.  I started following the New York Yankees when I was about 12.  (In an act that is likely anathema to religious fanatics, I married …

#SQL101: Installing SQL Server 2016

In an earlier article, I discussed how to get started with SQL Server.  I mentioned downloading a copy of SQL Server Developer Edition and installing a sample database. It had been quite some time since I performed a SQL Server installation (my current job only requires that I know T-SQL, not how to install or …

#SQL101: SQL Server: How to get started

A few weeks ago, my friend Jim called me.  His company was ending its relationship with a major client, and as a result, his position was likely to be reduced (or eliminated -- I don't remember which one he said) over the long term.  He knew that I'd done a lot of work with SQL …