SQL Live! Sessions

Track 1 - Tuesday, March 27

The Need for Speed, Intermediate       
Robert Patton
10:30 a.m.
No query can run fast enough. In this session you'll learn tips and tricks to make your everyday jobs and everyday code run more effectively. Often developers place all of their focus in the execution plan to tune specific queries. Instead of relying on tuning specific queries, write better queries! Come and learn when and how you should limit rows, use output parameters, how to build a better WHERE clause, and how to avoid many of the more common pitfalls; such as: optimizer hints, string concatenation and cursors. From this session you are more likely to achieve better execution plans and more.

T-SQL Enhancements in SQL Server 2005   
Stephen Forte
11:45 a.m.
By now you have heard that you can write stored procedures in C# and VB .NET for SQL Server 2005. Does that mean TSQL is dead? NO! A lot has changed in the world of TSQL with the next version of SQL Server. See how efficient you can become with the new TSQL enhancements. You can cross tab in seconds with the PIVOT statement, perform recursive queries much easier with Common Table Expressions, manipulate XML data easier with the XML datatype, and aggregate with ease using the new TOP functions. Report with ease using ranking functions. We’ll take a look at the new TSQL enhancements, data types, and the like. We’ll also look at how to choose between CLR Stored Procedures and TSQL.

Using XQuery to Retrieve & Manipulate XML Data
Stephen Forte
3:15 p.m.
XQuery makes it very easy to retrieve and manipulate XML in and outside the database. This session will look at how to use the new XML datatype and XQuery to retrieve and manipulate XML data inside the database. We'll start with a look at the XQuery specification and then quickly move to SQL Server’s implementation of XQuery 1.0. We'll incorporate XQuery in SELECT and WHERE clauses to retrieve information, as well as see how to manipulate XML data with XQuery DML.

Advanced SQL Client 2.0, Advanced                     
Brian Randell
4:30 p.m.
The latest version of SQL Client for managed code developers offers a plethora of new features that help you build richer and more robust applications, especially when using SQL Server 2005 as the back end. In this session you'll learn about new features like MARS and Cache Sync, as well as how to take advantage of changes to connection pooling and other connection management features. You'll learn how to use these features from both Windows Forms and ASP.NET applications, including the areas that require the most attention.

Programming SMO, Intermediate              
Brian Randell
5:45 p.m.
With the release of SQL Server 2005, administrators and developers alike have a brand new API that exposes all the goodness of SQL Server 2005. Goodness that can be controlled from your scripts and applications. In this session you'll learn how to use SQL Server 2005's SQL Management Objects (SMO) to find servers and enumerate their objects. You'll learn how to perform administration task like back and restore. In addition, you'll learn how write programs to perform batch updates to multiple servers. By the end of the session, you'll be armed with a whole toolbox of code to get you started managing your own SQL Server 2005 installations.

Track 2 – Tuesday, March 27

SQL Server 2005 New Features, Intermediate    
Jeff Levinson
10:30 a.m.
Haven't moved up to SQL Server 2005 yet? Find out how you as a developer will benefit from all of the new features available. This session introduces you to the new features of SQL Server 2005. Learn the new security features from a developer perspective including data encryption. Find out about the new Schema structure, and learn how to leverage the SQL CLR to simplify formerly complex T-SQL statements. Get an introduction to additional new features, such as Integration Services and advanced features.

SQL Server 2005 Security, Intermediate        
Jeff Levinson
11:45 a.m.
Learn about the new security features of SQL Server 2005. Find out how to use Schema’s to partition databases and make them more secure. Learn how to change execution contexts to enforce tighter security. See the new encryption features of SQL Server 2005 which can help protect data even if a database is compromised. Learn how to install and configure CLR assemblies to limit access and prevent security breaches from managed code. And see how the Surface Area Configuration helps limit the potential attacks on your SQL Server system!

Don’t Know Much about Service Broker, Intermediate  
Michael Jones
3:15 p.m.
SQL Server’s Service Broker is a queuing system built atop SQL Server 2005. We will not only explore the benefits of queuing architectures for distributed applications, but we will also dive into several sample applications that explore the functions of Service Broker. The first part of the session will answer the architectural questions of “why” and “how”; the second part will focus on sample applications. Come see why Service Broker is quickly becoming a mainstream choice for queuing applications.

SQL Server Notification Services: A Developer's Primer, Intermediate
Leonard Lobel
4:30 p.m.
Learn how to extend your applications with messaging capabilities using SQL Server 2005 Notification Services. We'll quickly cover the basics of this powerful middleware component, including event providers, content formatters, delivery protocol providers and subscriptions. Then the gloves come off as we build a real notification application in Visual Studio. Discover how easily you can create robust notification applications by leveraging this flexible and extensible middleware platform in this demo-packed session.

SQL Server Express Edition for the .NET Developer, Intermediate
Leonard Lobel
5:45 p.m.
This talk is all about SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (SQL Express). We start off by comparing Express with the other editions of SQL Server. Special treatment is given to the Express vs. Everywhere (formerly known as Mobile Edition) question that developers inevitably face when building applications that require a local database.

Then we dive into a series of demos that showcase SQL Server Management Studio Express (SSMS Express), dynamic database attachment and integration with Visual Studio. We give a detailed explanation of exactly what User Instances are (a feature available only in SQL Express), and provide demos that show how to manage User Instances in the context of other new features in SQL Server, such as SQL CLR integration. Additional demos include how to deploy your SQL Express based .NET application using ClickOnce technology, and building front end reporting applications using RDLC, the Report Viewer redistributable control, and the Reporting Add-In for Visual Web Developer Express. Sample code is provided as well, and is based on the Microsoft Starter Kits and Sample Applications for SQL Express.

Track 1 – Wednesday, March 28

SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services, Intermediate    
Bill Wolff
10:30 a.m.
Learn about advanced techniques for building reports with SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services and the Visual Studio-based Report Designer. Topics include how to use the built-in expression language, report parameterization (data driven, multi-valued, and hierarchical), supporting multiple data sources (including relational, multi-dimensional, and XML), and making reports interactive. You will see the new features available to report designers in SQL Server 2005 sp2, including SharePoint 2007 integration. There will be walkthroughs of sample reports and tips and tricks for using the Report Definition Language (RDL).

SSIS Patterns and Practices, Intermediate   
Trey Johnson
11:45 a.m.
Integration Services fulfills the core needs of ETL within the Enterprise. It’s not you're old DTS; but you can learn the techniques that will make it successful for you today. Curious now and want to know just how the technology is being applied to this paradigm as well as alternatives? Join us for this in-depth session of exploring querying of federated data sources; learning integration of Data Mining in the pipeline; and coming to know the blend of out-of-the-box and custom extensions to making Integration Services work well in your organization. We'll explore this through a multitude of demonstrations that can be applied in your own business.

Microsoft BI: The Combination of SQL Server and Office 2007, Intermediate
Trey Johnson
3:15 p.m.
The world of Microsoft Business Intelligence keeps getting bigger and better.... This session endeavors to illustrate the underlying architecture and the major components of the Microsoft BI platform; including looking closely at the inter-play between SQL Server Analysis Services, SQL Server Reporting Services, Office 2007 and the Performance Point platform. Learn about the synergies between SQL Server and Office 2007 in delivering robust decision-making capabilities to your users.

Data Mining with SQL Server Analysis Services and Excel 2007, Intermediate
Andrew Brust
4:30 p.m.
Get the connotations of espionage and privacy invasion out of your head.  SQL Server Data Mining is all about using predictive query technology to avoid running your organization by trial and error.  Data Mining was a cool feature in SQL Server 2000, and has become a much richer product in SQL Server 2005.  Now, with the release of Service Pack 2, the full power of the SQL Server Data Mining engine is available to users of Excel 2007.  In this session, we’ll explore the concepts of data mining and prediction queries and we’ll see how to mine both relational and spreadsheet data.  We’ll also take a look at how easy it is to leverage Data Mining models from Reporting Services and .NET application code.

SharePoint 2007 Business Intelligence, Intermediate
Bill Wolff
5:45 p.m.
SharePoint 2007 provides new Business Intelligence features including dashboards, KPI lists, the Business Data Catalog, BI specific Web parts, Report Center, and a number of other new features. SQL Server Analysis Services, SQL Server Reporting Services, and Excel Services integration are presented. You can use these tools to build enterprise reporting portals.

Track 2 – Wednesday, March 28

SQL CLR Programming: How and When, Intermediate         
Andrew Brust
10:30 a.m.
It’s made headlines, and it’s pretty cool: SQL Server 2005 integrates the .NET common language runtime and can host stored procedures, triggers, functions, aggregates and user-defined types written in .NET code. In this session we’ll cover the A-B-Cs of writing SQL CLR code. You’ll learn how to take advantage of SQL Server’s integration with Visual Studio for development, deployment and debugging of your SQL CLR assemblies.  You’ll also learn how to deploy plain Class Library assemblies using nothing more than T-SQL commands.  Perhaps most importantly, we’ll look at when and where SQL CLR programming is best used, and when you’re better off sticking with T-SQL.

HTTP Endpoints: Native XML Web Services in SQL Server 2005, Intermediate
Kent Brown
11:45 a.m.
It seems Web services and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) are everywhere you turn, and now with Native XML Web Services in SQL Server 2005, you can expose Web services directly from the database. This could drastically change your N-Tier application architecture by eliminating the need for the middle tier. Less code is always a good thing, right? But is that a good idea? How does it work?  How does it compare to the SQLXML 3.0 that was available in SQL Server 2000? Is it secure? Will it perform? Will it scale? What scenarios does it fit best?  This session will cover everything you need to know about this exciting new capability in SQL Server 2005.

Using SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition, Intermediate    
Jackie Goldstein
3:15 p.m.
SQL 2005 Compact Edition is no longer just for mobile devices - you can be building desktop applications with it as well! This session will introduce you to SQL 2005 Compact Edition, and show you how you can build both standalone and occasionally connected applications with this lightweight database engine today. We will show the various options and tradeoffs for deploying, developing, and synchronizing with a central database server.

Synchronization Options for SQL Server Compact Edition, Advanced  
Jackie Goldstein
4:30 p.m.
When using SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition as a client-side database, there are several options available to you to synchronize with the data in a central SQL Server database. This Session will demo, explain, and explore the tradeoffs in using RDA and Merge Replication. It will also introduce Microsoft's forthcoming Synchronization Services for ADO.NET.

Deploying SQL Server Applications, Intermediate     
Brian Randell
5:45 p.m.
Sometimes the easiest part of building a data driven application is just that-building it. Getting it out to your customers successfully can bring new meaning to the terms pain and suffering. Come to this session to learn how you can deploy your managed applications with SQL Server 2005 Express and full-blown versions of SQL Server 2005. You'll learn about version detection, how to deploy your databases, setup security and more. You'll also learn how Click Once makes it easy to ship data with your Windows Forms applications.