http://www.KatieAndEmil.com Our articles about BI and Microsoft technologies. http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/three-reasons-for-normalization-in-database In this article we cover three reasons for normalization (from our point of view). We created the article and included it in our exam guide to 98-364 Database Fundamentals. Mon, 2 Jul 2012 19:27:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/three-reasons-for-normalization-in-database http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/rss-pubdate-format-in-sql-server-rfc-2822 Today I had to write T-SQL code to convert date into very specific date format (Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:24:05 GMT) so I could generate in my stored procedure pubDate element for my RSS feed. Mon, 2 Jul 2012 20:54:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/rss-pubdate-format-in-sql-server-rfc-2822 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-server-get-identity-after-insert-stored-procedure I thought I will share my experience how you can get identity value after insert using SQL Server. I have also written stored procedure that shows how to use one of the methods and return the value using sp argument so it can be used for other purposes. Tue, 3 Jul 2012 05:55:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-server-get-identity-after-insert-stored-procedure http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/basic-sql-interview-questions-and-answers-for-freshers-pdf We decided to add blog post that covers only basic SQL Interview questions and answers. The blog currently provides only questions that are split into theory and practical questions. Sat, 7 Jul 2012 17:17:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/basic-sql-interview-questions-and-answers-for-freshers-pdf http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/data-manipulation-language-statements-in-sql-server In this blog post we describe what is Data Manipulation Language (DML) and include this article in our exam guide for 98-364 database fundamentals and our SQL Tutorial. Sat, 7 Jul 2012 17:55:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/data-manipulation-language-statements-in-sql-server http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-server-performance-tuning-overview In this blog article I will give an overview of performance tuning based on common situation that occur on small and medium size BI projects. Later on I hope to add more links that describe the subject in more details. Tue, 10 Jul 2012 07:11:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-server-performance-tuning-overview http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/database-interview-questions-and-answers-pdf-sql-server I decided to expand the collection of SQL Server Interview questions and this time focus on database objects related questions. Tue, 10 Jul 2012 07:15:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/database-interview-questions-and-answers-pdf-sql-server http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/microsoft-sql-server-error-18456-login-failed-for-user 18456 is probably one of the most common errors people come across and in this article we try to cover all possible scenarios that will help you to resolve it. Fri, 13 Jul 2012 06:02:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/microsoft-sql-server-error-18456-login-failed-for-user http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/microsoft-bi-architecture-diagram-with-explanation Today I have decided to prepare myself for a meeting with a potential client (tomorrow) and write an article about BI Systems Architecture Diagrams as I will be most likely asked to compare my experience with their existing approach and I hope those diagrams will help me to make good impression ;) Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:59:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/microsoft-bi-architecture-diagram-with-explanation http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/scrum-what-are-story-points-with-estimation-example In this blog post I discuss Scrum (agile development methodology) and method to accurately estimate effort to complete sprint which can also be used to calculate cost of the project. Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:41:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/scrum-what-are-story-points-with-estimation-example http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/excel-2013-preview-download-and-install Office 2013 Preview is not avialable. I'm particularly interested in Excel 2013 and new self-server BI features so I decided to write a blog post how to download and Install Office 2013 and next I will write blog post about the most interested feature for me which is PowerView. Thu, 19 Jul 2012 11:20:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/excel-2013-preview-download-and-install http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/excel-enable-powerpivot-add-in-excel-2013 In this blog post we cover instructions on how to enable PowerPivot in Excel 2013 (you can follow them in 2010 as well as they are very similar) and we will use this tutorial in next blog post and more specifically in blog describing how to use PowerView with Excel 2013. Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:30:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/excel-enable-powerpivot-add-in-excel-2013 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/excel-2013-with-powerview-install-and-setup In this blog post I will share steps I have taken to set up PowerView using Excel 2013. Hopefully tomorrow I will publish another post with Video on how I use PowerView with Excel 2013. Thu, 19 Jul 2012 17:04:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/excel-2013-with-powerview-install-and-setup http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/technorati-blog-directory-sql-server-blog We found another Blog directory that is willing to accept our RSS feed. And we have been asked to put our activation code in our RSS Feed 8HBVGY7K4K5E If you are aware of any other website that would benefit from our RSS feed than we would appreciate the details! Take care Katie and Emil Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:56:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/technorati-blog-directory-sql-server-blog http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-create-table-syntax-with-example-sql-server-2012 We have created a simple tutorial for SQL Create Table that may help some of you to prepare for Microsoft Certifications (98-364 and 70-461). Fri, 20 Jul 2012 13:48:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-create-table-syntax-with-example-sql-server-2012 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/powerpivot-import-data-from-sql-server-2012-in-excel-2013 In this tutorial we start creating PowerPivot model in Excel 2013 (very similar in 2010) by importing data from our SQL Server 2012 data warehouse. Sun, 22 Jul 2012 13:16:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/powerpivot-import-data-from-sql-server-2012-in-excel-2013 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/powerpivot-create-relationships-one-to-many-in-Excel-2013 We continue creating our PowerPivot model using Excel 2013 by adding relationships. We use two methods "manage relationships" dialog box and using Diagram View (that has been introduced in v2) Sun, 22 Jul 2012 13:18:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/powerpivot-create-relationships-one-to-many-in-Excel-2013 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/how-to-use-powerpivot-in-excel-2013 In previous lessons we create basic PowerPivot model now it is time to see how it looks in Excel 2013 PivotTable. For some reason Excel 2013 Preview seems to allow to create PivotTable only from PowerPivot but I hope extra button will be added to PowerPivot tab in Excel. Sun, 22 Jul 2012 13:24:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/how-to-use-powerpivot-in-excel-2013 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/powerpivot-hide-columns-and-unhide-in-Excel-2013 In this PowerPivot tutorial I show how to improve user experience by hiding fields from PivotTable (client tool) so user does not have to see fields which are worthless for end user. Mon, 23 Jul 2012 08:41:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/powerpivot-hide-columns-and-unhide-in-Excel-2013 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/powerpivot-default-measure-aggregation-in-Excel-2013 One of the PowerPivot advantages is flexibility of changing measure aggregation for instance changing average to minimum. PowerPivot applies default aggregation to a measure and usually it is SUM but in our case SUM does not make any sense so in this tutorial I will show how to change default aggregation to an average and still have flexibility of changing in PivotTable to for instance minimum. Mon, 23 Jul 2012 12:36:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/powerpivot-default-measure-aggregation-in-Excel-2013 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-primary-key-constraint-syntax-sql-server-2012 In this tutorial we show how to use ALTER TABLE and add Primary key constraint. This tutorial support our Exam Guide 70-461 Querying SQL Server 2012 Mon, 23 Jul 2012 15:46:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-primary-key-constraint-syntax-sql-server-2012 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-check-constraint-syntax-sql-server-2012 We have now added SQL CHECK CONSTRAINT to Exam Guide 70-461 Querying SQL Server 2012 and SQL Tutorial Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:29:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-check-constraint-syntax-sql-server-2012 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-default-constraint-syntax-sql-server-2012 This time we show how to use SQL DEFAULT CONSTRAINT to provide values for fields that are not given a value. This article supports our 70-461 Querying SQL Server 2012 and SQL Tutorial. Mon, 23 Jul 2012 18:00:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-default-constraint-syntax-sql-server-2012 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/powerpivot-diagram-view-missing Some of you might be wondering why Diagram View is missing in some PowerPivot windows. This is related to Microsoft releasing two versions of PowerPivot in Excel 2010 and in this blog post you will find out when diagram view is not avialable and what to do to make available. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 06:43:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/powerpivot-diagram-view-missing http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-server-2012-evaluate-installation-requirements As part of my preparations for 70-462 Administering SQL Server 2012 today I have created a blog post covering "evaluate installation requirements" that is part of skills measures. New BI Edition will definitelly allow more companies get more out of SQL Server 2012 when it comes to BI but there are limitiation that people should be aware of. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 10:10:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-server-2012-evaluate-installation-requirements http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-unique-constraint-with-example-sql-server-2012 In this blog psot we show how to restrict users from entering duplicated data by using SQL UNIQUE Constraint. In our examples we will use unique constraint on one field and we will use Email Address and one multiple fields and we will use First Name, Surname and Birth Date. This article has been written to support our SQL Tutorial and Exam Guide 70-461 Querying SQL Server 2012. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 13:47:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-unique-constraint-with-example-sql-server-2012 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-foreign-key-constraint-syntax-sql-server-2012 You can enforce referential integrity (ensure you don't get orphans) by adding Foreign Key Constraint and in this tutorial you can find a simple example explaining how to do that. This article has been created to support our SQL Tutorial and 70-461 Querying SQL Server 2012. Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:03:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/sql-foreign-key-constraint-syntax-sql-server-2012 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/video-introducing-powerview-with-excel-2013-demo In this blog post we show video that introduces PowerView with Excel 2013. You provide an overview of the tool and current limitations so you can make the right choice. PowerView is one of the best self-service BI tools that I have seen so far and will fill in gap in the market. Wed, 25 Jul 2012 15:36:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/video-introducing-powerview-with-excel-2013-demo http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/ssis-aggregate-transformation-example-ssis-2012 In this SSIS 2012 tutorial we will show you how to use data flow Aggregate Transformation and we will use our example of Customer and Total Sales Amount which is an interesting example as often to get more insight into customer behaviour it is useful to slice and dice the data by Customer Total Spend (usually spend band not exact figure). Aggregate transformation allows us to do that but remember if you can use group by at source and your query is relatively simple than usually that is a better option. This tutorial is now part of our SSIS Tutorial and in the future will be part of exam guide 70-463 implementing a data warehouse using SQL Server 2012. Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:36:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/ssis-aggregate-transformation-example-ssis-2012 http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/reconfigure-vs-reconfigure-with-override-sql-server-2012 You can change server properties of SQL Server using sp_confgure and to "save" it you need to use reconfigure. In this blog post I describe the difference between reconfigure and reconfigure with override. I also provide an example when reconfigure will fail and give you an error message and another example with override that works. Sat, 28 Jul 2012 13:40:00 GMT http://www.KatieAndEmil.com/rss/reconfigure-vs-reconfigure-with-override-sql-server-2012