SQL Server Best Practices Website

Posted by Jonathan Allen on Dec 04, 2006

Sections

Development,

Operations & Infrastructure

Topics

.NET ,

SQL Server

Tags

SQL Server 2005 ,

Best Practices

Mark Souza of Microsoft has announced a new web site for database administrators and developers called SQL Server - Best Practices. This site offers a wide range of material from top 10 lists suitable for novices to the in-depth technical white papers needed by seasoned professionals.

Topics include capacity planning, database mirroring, and bulk data loading. Over a dozen scripts for troubleshooting and performance tuning are also available.

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   Hmmm - "Best practices"

   by Aslak Hellesøy

   Can you do me a favour - please don't allow people to post articles on InfoQ that claim that their practices are "best".

   Reply

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   'Microsoft SQL Server', not 'SQL Server'

   by Thomas Mueller

   Many database engines support 'server' mode, and most support SQL. So the name 'SQL Server' is ambiguous. It could mean Oracle, MySQL, whatever, SQL server. It's not like MS invented 'SQL' or 'Server'. I suggest to rename the article 'MS SQL Server Best Practices'.
   
   Thomas

   Reply

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   Re: 'Microsoft SQL Server', not 'SQL Server'

   by Charles Cherry

   Chill out, man. I've been working around databases for years, including Oracle and others, and I've never heard one of them referred to as "SQL Server."
   
   As for the "Best Practices" post, maybe you should expand your literary horizons a little bit. At least read about what the phrase "Best Practices" means: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_practices or www.google.com/search?q=define:Best+practices&#...
   
   
   **Sigh**
   
   I get so sick of the microsoft bashing.

   Reply

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   Re: 'Microsoft SQL Server', not 'SQL Server'

   by Thomas Mueller

   I don't think this is about Microsoft bashing. Disambiguation:
   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL_Server
   No, I didn't edit this page ;-)

   Reply

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   Re: 'Microsoft SQL Server', not 'SQL Server'

   by Sam Smoot

   I doubt Aslak needs to be explained what "Best Practices" means. I'm sure he just feels that implicity validating something by calling it such doesn't serve developer interests.
   
   Many of the Microsoft MVP's for example view many of the "Best Practices" as dubious. A big problem in the Microsoft community is getting developers to look past the label and evaluate instead on the actual merits of a guideline or technique.
   
   I mention Microsoft because it's a community I'm familiar with. I'm sure the Sun community has similar issues. The Ruby community largely escapes this since I can't recall seeing anything being labeled "best practice", and most of the conversations I can recall that recommend one thing over another also encourage you to judge the merit for yourself.
   
   Back to the article though: I really like the "Top 10 Performance..." link. Overall it's pretty high-quality stuff. Nothing sneaky jumped out at me. (ie: Always use Stored Procedures for this, or CLR integration for that.) If you're working with MSSQL it's definitely a worthy read.
   
   BTW, even the Rails adapter for MSSQL is called "sqlserver".

   Reply

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   Re: 'Microsoft SQL Server', not 'SQL Server'

   by Charles Cherry

   The reason I thought it smacked of MS bashing was because "Best Practices" is a generic term used by many industries to indicate the tried and true way to do things with a particular tool, process or system.
   
   It seemed to me that the poster did not understand this use of the phrase, because he said "please don't allow people to post articles on InfoQ that claim that their practices are 'best'."
   
   Many people, myself included, would consider a publisher of a complicated software system remiss in its duty to the consumer if it does not also publish a set of "Best Practices" documents.
   
   I could be wrong, but I see so much MS bashing, and much of it sounds just like this guy's post. I guess it just hit a nerve when I first read it.

   Reply

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   Re: 'Microsoft SQL Server', not 'SQL Server'

   by Charles Cherry

   Your point is well taken.
   
   However, in all my years of database consulting, for many different companies, I have yet to encounter anyone who has been confused about which database engine I was referring to when I said "SQL Server." Of course, this is just anecdotal evidence and my experince could be unique.

   Reply

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