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Wise Owl blogs written in 2013 (page 2 of 3)
Showing blogs 21-40 (out of 44)
Problems with Shared Datasets and Subreports in SSRS
Posted by Andrew Gould on 23 April 2013
If you're using shared datasets to populate subreports in Reporting Services you might have encountered an error when you preview your reports. This short blog explains what the problem is and offers a few simple suggestions to work around the issue.
Posted by Andrew Gould on 22 April 2013
Dynamic SQL is a technique for building valid SQL statements from separate pieces of text. You can use this technique to create remarkably flexible and useful queries, as long as you're aware of the potential danger of SQL injection attacks.
Variable Scope in Integration Services 2012
Posted by Andy Brown on 16 April 2013
A quick blog on how to change the scope of any variable in SQL Server Integration Services 2012.
Problems connecting to Excel workbook from SSIS
Posted by Andy Brown on 16 April 2013
A short blog explaining why you might have problems connecting to an Excel workbook from SSIS.
Posted by Andrew Gould on 08 April 2013
A derived table is a technique for creating a temporary set of records which can be used within another query in SQL. You can use derived tables to shorten long queries, or even just to break a complex process into logical steps.
SSIS: Executing SQL statement for each file
Posted by Andy Brown on 05 April 2013
How to store the name of each file in a folder in a SQL Server table using an Integration Services package.
Problem with using VBA to create chart labels
Posted by Andy Brown on 04 April 2013
If your chart has more than a thousand data labels, this blog explains why you may experience problems.
Posted by Andrew Gould on 26 March 2013
Cursors allow you to step through a set of data one record at a time. They’re not the quickest tool in SQL Server’s box, but they have their uses and this blog explains how they work.
How to use the RANKX function in PowerPivot
Posted by Andy Brown on 20 March 2013
This blog shows how to use each of the 5 arguments of the RANKX function to rank rows in PowerPivot.
Posted by Andrew Gould on 18 February 2013
Many programming languages feature a variety of types of loop which allow your programs to repeat a set of instructions multiple times. In SQL there is only one type of loop, and this blog explains how it works!
Inline and multi-statement table-valued functions
Posted by Andy Brown on 08 February 2013
This blog shows you how to create table-valued functions in SQL (ie functions which return a table of data!).
How to create and use table variables in T-SQL
Posted by Andy Brown on 08 February 2013
Table variables allow you to hold rows of data in temporary storage, without any processing overhead. Read this blog to add this technique to your SQL armoury!
Exporting data from SQL Server Management Studio
Posted by Andrew Gould on 04 February 2013
While SQL Server Management Studio is a powerful tool for writing queries, it has absolutely no concessions towards making the results of those queries remotely presentable! This blog describes several techniques for getting the results of a query into another application so that you can format them to your heart’s content.
Scalar User Defined Functions in SQL Server - UDFs
Posted by Andrew Gould on 01 February 2013
If you have a calculation that you frequently use in SQL queries you're probably bored of writing out the same code time after time. Why not try creating a user-defined function to save you the hassle? This blog teaches you how to define your own custom functions, including how to use input parameters, how to alter a function after you've created it, and even how to use fancy programming techniques such as variables and IF statements to help structure complex sequences of calculations.
An overview of PowerPivot for Excel 2010
Posted by Andy Brown on 31 January 2013
PowerPivot is a superb addition to Excel: it allows you to create pivot tables based on multiple tables taken from a variety of data sources, and its DAX language lets you report any statistic you want. This overview summarises how to get started with PowerPivot, and what it does.
Posted by Andy Brown on 30 January 2013
Excel 2013 contains radical changes to charts, pivot tables and the user interface. This review explains all the new features of Excel 2013
Writing IF and ELSE conditions in SQL
Posted by Andy Brown on 29 January 2013
You can use the IF statement to test conditions in SQL - this blog explains how, and also explains why you might prefer to use CASE WHEN instead.
SQL subqueries (including correlated subqueries)
Posted by Andrew Gould on 28 January 2013
If you’ve been writing SQL queries for a while you’re probably fairly confident with writing single SELECT statements to return a set of records. If you’re ready for a bit more of a challenge, this blog will teach you how to nest one SELECT statement inside another in order to create a subquery. If you’re thinking “that sounds simple enough” then you might want to read to the end of this series, where we’ll attempt to melt your brain by explaining correlated subqueries!
Using @@rowcount and other global variables
Posted by Andy Brown on 28 January 2013
SQL comes complete with a few useful global variables, giving you information such as the row number of the record just inserted, or the number of rows affected by a query. Here's how to use them!
Creating a PowerPivot calendar in Access or Excel
Posted by Andy Brown on 16 January 2013
This blog shows you how to create a calendar of dates for use in PowerPivot. Instructions are included for Excel and Access.