Microsoft SQL Server 2012 A Beginners Guide Book Review

This book is a really great beginners guide for core SQL Server 2012, and it also does a great job of introducing new features introduced in SQL Server 2012. What I mean by core is that topics like Master Data Services and Data Quality Services are not introduced. That is not a bad thing. By limiting the scope of the book, the author was able to better the topics that are included. I wanted this book because I like having a book about the basics close by. I am not in SQL Server everyday and when I find myself needing to go back to it, I not only want books on the advanced features nearby, I want the basics also. The book covers all the basics you need to know to get up and running quickly. After a really nice introduction where the author covers the new 2012 features and where they are covered in the book, they have a nice overview of relational databases and detailed coverage of the installation process. The book is broken into five parts. I have listed the parts and the chapters in each below. The titles of the chapters show the topics covered. Part I: Basic Concepts and Installation Chapter 1. Relational Database Systems: An Introduction Chapter 2. Planning the Installation and Installing SQL Server Chapter 3. SQL Server Management Studio Part II: Transact-SQL Language Chapter 4. SQL Components Chapter 5. Data Definition Language Chapter 6. Queries Chapter 7. Modification of a Table's Contents Chapter 8. Stored Procedures and User-Defined Functions Chapter 9. System Catalog Chapter 10. Indices Chapter 11. Views Chapter 12. Security System of the Database Engine Chapter 13. Concurrency Control Chapter 14. Triggers Part III: SQL Server: System Administration Chapter 15. System Environment of the Database Engine Chapter 16. Backup, Recovery, and System Availability Chapter 17. Automating System Administration Tasks Chapter 18. Data Replication Chapter 19. Query Optimizer Chapter 20. Performance Tuning Part IV: SQL Server and Business Intelligence Chapter 21. Business Intelligence: An Introduction Chapter 22. SQL Server Analysis Services Chapter 23. Business Intelligence and Transact-SQL Chapter 24. SQL Server Reporting Services Chapter 25. Optimizing Techniques for Relational Online Analytical Processing Part V: Beyond Relational Data Chapter 26. SQL Server and XML Chapter 27. Spatial Data Chapter 28. SQL Server Full-Text Search The author has a great writing style and really explains things clearly making good use of diagrams, code samples, and tables. I mention that because I have seen books that don't. The author has made all the scripts, sample database, and exercise solutions available. The author also makes use of the AdventureWorks and AdventureWorksDW database. I thought is was strange they didn't use the AdventureWorks2012 and the AdventureWorksDW2012 version available on CodePlex, but that was probably because they weren't available at the time the book was written. Like I said at the beginning if the review, this is a beginners book, just like the title states. You won't find coverage of topics like cursors, buy you will find all the basics are covered. All in all I highly recommend this book as the starting point for anyone looking to learn SQL Server 2012

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 A Beginners Guide 5/E (Beginner's Guides)

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services Book Review

Over the years I have been on quite a few projects and there have been very few if any that did not require some type of reporting. For a while that meant Crystal Reports, but when SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) hit the scene, Crystal Reports began to fade on Microsoft projects. That was especially true if I had my way. I was the first person to champion SSRS in state projects in Pennsylvania. That was quite a battle but well worth it! SSRS is one of the best solutions to come out of Microsoft. I don't say that lightly. I have plenty of complaints about different Microsoft products, but none about SSRS. The extensibility model built into the architecture makes the product completely customizable through extension. This book introduces the SSRS architecture, the report manager, the basics of databases and database queries, but every topic introduced supports the report builder role. This book is all about the report builder. The chapters are listed below. Part I: Getting Started Chapter 1. Let's Start at the Very Beginning Chapter 2. Putting the Pieces in Place: Installing Reporting Services Part II: Report Authoring Chapter 3. DB 101: Database Basics Chapter 4. A Visit to Emerald City: The Report Wizard Chapter 5. Removing the Training Wheels: Building Basic Reports Chapter 6. Graphic Expression: Using Charts, Images, and Gauges Chapter 7. Geography Lesson: Using Maps and Spatial Data Types Chapter 8. Kicking It Up a Notch: Intermediate Reporting Chapter 9. Beyond Wow: Advanced Reporting Part III: Reporting Serving Chapter 10. How Did We Ever Manage Without You--The Report Manager Chapter 11. Delivering the Goods: Report Delivery Chapter 12. Teamwork: Integrating Reporting Services Chapter 13. Well Begun: Best Practices One thing that struck me as a little weird was there was no "What's new in SSRS 2012" section. That is no big deal as I usually skip those sections anyway, but some readers may be looking for it. One big change that was worth mentioning was no more Report Models. I didn't see that mentioned anywhere in the book. Reports can be built using Visual Studio 2010, Visual Studio 2010 with the SQL Server Data Tools add-in, and Report Builder. The author does a great job showing how to use the different tools with each example when usage is different. This really helps you get familiar with the tools and in the end will help you choose which tool you would like to use. There is no coverage of custom extensions. My review started by touting that that is my favorite part of the product, so I was disappointed to see nothing about it. Although I do believe the content of this book will take you to the maximum possible potential of creating and delivering reports with the out of the box functionality, I have had to write custom extensions on many projects in order to meet the client's requirements. It is a topic that I would like to see covered and have seen covered in other reporting services books. However, I am not going to ding the book for this because I know that 99.9% of the reporting services authors will never have to write a custom extension or even have to know they exist. My favorite part of the book was the hands on approach the author takes to teach us the ins and outs of SSRS. The best way to read this book is with Visual Studio or Report Builder open. The author goes through tons of step by step tasks. Another thing I really liked was the coverage of data visualization. One of the biggest business user requests I hear is for data visualization in the form of charts, images, and gauges. This book will teach you how to use all three. It also includes great coverage of maps and spatial data types. One last thing I really like about this book is that the author does a great job of teaching the reader how to retrieve data. In the beginning of the book he does an excellent job explaining joins. Then throughout the book he advances the reader to some fairly complex queries using joins. After running through all the examples you'll know how to get to the data you want. Like I said above this is a Report Builder's book. If you want to learn everything there is about building reports, this is the book to teach you. The best part though is that you do not have to have any experience. This book takes the beginner from databases 101 to beginning reports, through intermediate reports, to building advanced reports. The downloadable code is well organized and very usable. The author includes a database and an OLAP database. Both come with instructions for installing and configuring. All the code works well and adds a lot of value to the book. All in all if you are building SQL Server 2102 Reporting Services Reports, or if you are interested in learning how to, you owe it to yourself to get this book.

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services 4/E

Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010 Unleashed Book Review

BizTalk is no small topic. To cover it all in detail in one book is one huge task. This book comes the closest to doing that I have seen so far. This is not a beginners BizTalk book. You won't find a chapter on installation and configuration, although there is a chapter on the administration console and one on deployment concepts. It digs right into the meat. It is perfect for anyone who knows a little about BizTalk and wants to get a complete picture of the BizTalk features available in BizTalk 2010. After a nice introduction and overview the authors have chapters on Schemas, Maps, Orchestrations, Pipelines, Adapters, BizTalk 2010 and WCF: Extensibility, BizTalk and Windows Azure, Business Activity Monitoring with BizTalk BAM, The Business Rules Framework, Rule-Based Programming, ESB with BizTalk Server, Administration Console Concepts, Deployment Concepts, BizTalk RFID, and BizTalk RFID Mobile. Over the years I have worked with BizTalk at different levels. I have also worked just with BAM on some projects. My current company will probably skip going to BizTalk 2010 since they just recently upgraded to 2009. Personally I don't want to skip getting familiar with a version of BizTalk. My goal with this book was to get a refresher on BizTalk and an introduction to the new 2010 features. This book definitely accomplished that goal for me. Each chapter does a thorough job of hitting all the related points. For example the Adapter chapter discusses Native Adapters, Line-of-Business Adapters, BizTalk Adapter Pack, Host Adapters, and Third-Party and Custom Adapters. Coverage includes FTP Adapter, HTTP Adapter, MQ Series Adapter, MSMQ Adapter, POP3 Adapter, SMTP Adapter, SharePoint Services Adapter, WCF Adapters, and SQL Server Adapter. The biggest let down with the book is that there is no accompanying download. With the amount if code samples throughout the book the authors should have put in the effort to provide one. In my search for one I saw one of the authors promised it, but there has been none produced to date. The biggest highlight is the coverage of the Business Rules Engine. The book has 172 pages of premium Business Rules Engine coverage. This is not common. Most BizTalk books have a very little detail on the Business Rules Engine. Although there are multiple authors on the book it doesn't read like it. All of them did a great job of writing in a style that makes the topics at hand easy to understand. All in all I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants the complete picture of all the features BizTalk 2010 has to offer.

Microsoft BizTalk Server 2010 Unleashed

Sparx Systems has released Enterprise Architect 9.3 which includes ArchiMate 2.0

Sparx Enterprise Architecture is my tool of choice for software architecture, design, project management, and project planning. This new version offers some really great new features. I have summarized them below with content I copied from the Sparx Enterprise Architect 9.3 Release Highlights page.

Summary of New Features:
Visualize complex relationships across multiple diagrams
Easily move information between two open diagrams
Create and share custom menus to improve workflow
Hide page borders on all diagrams with a single click
Analyze and debug systems with enhanced Testpoint capabilities
Develop open, scalable architectures using ArchiMate 2
Capture, visualize and document the run-state and relationships of objects during program execution
Instantly drag Breakpoints and Markers to a different line in the source code editor

Although I really like all the new features the Archimate update is really cool. I have been using Archimate for enterprise level diagrams for a while now. It is the primary modeling language on my current project.

ArchiMate® 2.0 includes:

• ArchiMate Core improvements.
  • Separate diagrams for Business, Application and Technology layers
  • Clearer differentiation between elements in different layers, e.g. Business Service, Application Service and Infrastructure Service.
  • New element types: Location, Infrastructure Function.
• Motivation Extension.
  • Models stakeholders, drivers for change, business goals, principles and requirements.
  • New Motivation diagram.
  • New element types: Stakeholder, Driver, Assessment, Goal, Requirement, Constraint and Principle.
  • New relationship: Influence.
• Implementation and Migration Extension.
  • Supports project portfolio management, gap analysis and transition and migration planning.
  • New Implementation and Migration diagram.
  • New element types: Work Package, Deliverable, Plateau and Gap.

More about Archimate 2.0 here.

You can check out a list of all the features included in this 9.3 release and others here.

Networking Essentials (3rd Edition) Book Review

Being a software architect requires keeping up to speed with the hardware and networking options that are available. I decided to go with this textbook to brush up on networking. This book is intended to get you up to speed to take the CompTIA's Network+ exam. Throughout the book the author lists the CompTIA Domain/Objective Number being covered in the chapter and which section you'll find it. After a nice introduction to networking chapter the book digs into the details with chapters Physical Layer Cabling: Twisted Pair, Physical Layer Cabling: Fiber Optics, Wireless Networking, Interconnecting the LANs, Introduction to Router Configuration, Introduction to Switch Configuration, Routing Protocols, Internet Technologies: Out to the Internet, Troubleshooting, and Network Security. One thing that is really cool about the book is that it comes with some nice companion content. There is a demo of the Cisco CCENT Mind Share Game, Wireshark example captures, Net-Challenge software, and samples of other certification guides. To all the instructors that are considering using this book in their class, I think this is the perfect text to introduce networking. The chapters start by providing a chapter outline, define the objectives, list the key terms, and then provide a nice introduction to the topic. At the end of each chapter there is a large set of questions and problems. There is also a section review and test your knowledge after each section. If your students take the time to complete these, they will really be driving home the chapter's material. There are a ton of real production pictures, product specifications, diagrams, schematics, and screenshots that help to paint the full picture of the subject being covered. Throughout the book the authors also list key terms in the margins. There is also a nice glossary of key terms near the end of the book. This book is one of the best overall networking books I have seen. It introduces everything and also goes deep enough to provide a clear understanding of the topic at hand. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning about network and to instructors look for an excellent text book for their class. This book can teach the student on its own and they need no prior network experience.

Networking Essentials (3rd Edition)

SharePoint Designer 2010 Unleashed Book Review

When I first saw this book was coming out I completely ignored it. The SharePoint Designer ? Who uses that I thought? Then I noticed it starting to get some good reviews and I decided to read them. One of them mentioned 1600 pages. That threw me for a loop and also convinced me I had to check it out. I had to see what was in 1600 pages worth of content about SharePoint Designer and I am really glad I did. This book is about so much more than just the SharePoint Designer. It gives a great overview of SharePoint 2010's architecture, covers how to make modifications in the browser, goes deep into security details, covers new and depreciated site templates, working with the ribbon, CSS, XSLT, Business Connectivity Services, data controls, workflows, InfoPath, and more!!! The timing of me getting my hands on this book was perfect. I seem to be needing it everyday lately. I am just finishing a 2007 to 2010 SharePoint upgrade process and there are a ton of new features available in 2010. In the past I have done a lot of web part programming and Silverlight web part programming. In my current position I got drafted to figure out how to do the 2010 upgrade. Now with the help of the book I am able to learn more about creating solutions without programming them. The book has four parts. The first part is a really nice in-depth overview of SharePoint's architecture, an introduction to SharePoint 2010 features, and how to make in-browser customizations. The second part introduces using the SharePoint Designer 2010 to design and modify web user interfaces, site templates, content types, lists, and libraries. Part three is all about styling and designing SharePoint sites using CSS, page layouts, content pages, web part zones, and themes. The last part is all about working with different data sources and data views. I have listed each part and the chapters they include below. Part I: Welcome to SharePoint Server 2010 1. SharePoint 2010 Overview 2. SharePoint 2010 Architectural Overview 3. Introduction to the SharePoint 2010 Fluid Interface 4. Design Administrative Tasks: Site Settings, Permissions and Creating Sites 5. In-Browser Customization: Navigation, Content Pages and Content 6. In-Browser Customization: Branding with Web Parts, Themes and Master Pages Part II: Enhancing Sites with SharePoint Designer 2010 7. Web Interface Design with SharePoint Designer 2010 8. Creating Sites with Site Templates 9. Working with Content Types and Columns in SharePoint Designer 10. Creating and Configuring Lists and Libraries Part III: Styling and Designing SharePoint 2010 Sites 11. Understanding SharePoint Designer Editing Features 12. Working with Content Pages in SharePoint Designer 13. Building New Content Pages and Configuring Web Parts and Web Part Zones 14. Extending Content Pages with Media and Dialogs 15. Creating New Publishing Page Layouts 16. Working with and Creating New SharePoint Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) 17. Creating New SharePoint 2010 Master Pages 18. SharePoint Themes and Themable CSS: The Icing on the Cake Part IV: Data Manipulation and Business Processes 19. Configuring Data Sources (Non-BCS) 20. External Content Types and External Lists (BCS) 21. Manipulating Data with ASP.NET Data Controls 22. Overview of XSLT List View and Data View Web Parts in SharePoint 2010 23. Working with XSLT List View Web Parts (XLVs) 24. Working with the Data View and Data Form Web Parts 25. Configuring and Customizing List Forms 26. Customizing List Forms with InfoPath 2010 Forms 27. Using Workflows and Creating Custom Workflows 28. Creating Custom List Actions: Adding Buttons to the Ribbon and List Item Menus The author has a download on the publisher's site of all the resources used throughout the book. The author's writing style makes things easy to understand and the book's material an easy read. One of the things I liked about the book is that the author points out cool extra stuff along the way. One of the things I thought was cool was how to make it snow on the SharePoint site. This book will definitely remain by my side. The massive amount of information makes it a great reference. You will not find information on SharePoint Designer 2010 this in-depth anywhere else. I highly recommend this book to anyone involved with SharePoint development and design.

SharePoint Designer 2010 Unleashed