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Sessions Descriptions

Optimize the performance and reliability of SQL Server 2000 while looking ahead to SQL Server 2005.

Tuesday, February 8

What’s New for Developers in SQL Server 2005
Thomas Rizzo, Microsoft
10:30 a.m.
Examine all the new enhancements in SQL Server 2005 that developers should know about.  This includes the new .NET integration, XML Web Services, T-SQL enhancements, Reporting Services, and BI improvements as well as other enhancements.  You should walk away with an understanding of how you can take advantage of the next release of SQL Server in your current and future applications.

OLAP For The Masses
Terry Weiss, Mentis Solutions
10:30 a.m.
SQL Server Analysis Services look powerful but scary to novice users. But fear not! We will create a cube from scratch and introduce the tools and concepts necessary for working with these powerful constructs. Need an ad-hoc query engine? Want to get that guy in finance that’s always asking for custom reports off your back? Then this is the session for you. Put the power back into your user’s hands. Then, sit back and collect the accolades!

CLR-Based Stored Procedures and Other Classes in SQL Server 2005
Bill Vaughn, Beta V Corp.
11:45 a.m.
One of the most talked-about new features in SQL Server 2005 (formerly known as “Yukon”) is its ability to execute CLR-based assemblies on the server. This topic is especially important for DBAs concerned with developers’ use of CLR code. While SQL Server has been able to execute non-TSQL code for some time, this session discusses how developers and DBAs can use Visual Studio 2005 to create, test, deploy, and debug CLR-based stored procedures, User-defined Types (UDTs) and User-Defined Functions (UDFs). We’ll discuss where this technology makes sense (and where it doesn’t) and how it’s implemented. The course walks through three examples: one that does not make sense for conversion but illustrates the development techniques, and two others that provide a rich example of the issues and techniques associated with writing CLR Assemblies for SQL Server 2005.

Business Intelligence on SQL Server 2000 versus SQL Server 2005
Trey Johnson, Encore Development
11:45 a.m.
Want a general idea of how the world gets better for SQL Server business intelligence on the 2005 platform? This is the place for you. If you've explored any one of the following: DTS, Analysis Services or Reporting Services, don't miss the chance to learn more about the next generation of Microsoft SQL Server Business Intelligence technologies.    

Using Multiple Active Result Sets in SQL Server 2005
Goksin Bakir, Yage Bilgisayar, Ltd.
2 p.m.
Take a look at the architecture, design, and use of Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS) and how to incorporate this feature into existing applications. Unlike previous versions, SQL Server 2005’s MARS feature allows multiple pending requests on a single database connection. We’ll explore how to manage MARS connections and leverage this feature to increase the versatility and functionality of applications.

OLAP 101 for SQL Server 2005
Jack Hakim, EC Wise
2 p.m.
SQL Server 7 gave us the first MS-OLAP implementation and SQL Server 2000 improved upon it, and gained significant market share. However, it’s SQL Server 2005 that will make OLAP a truly powerful, flexible, and mainstream technology for SQL Server and .NET developers. We’ll look at how you can use the SQL Server 2005 Universal Data Model(UDM) to combine the power of both relational and multidimensional databases, and learn new and easier ways to design and build cubes under Analysis Services 2005. We’ll also explore many advanced new features, including the Proactive Cache, dimensional attributes and hierarchies, perspectives, KPIs, and more.

XML and XML Web Services with SQL Server 2005
Matt Nunn , Microsoft
3:15 p.m.
Have you ever wanted to use XML data or XML Web Services with SQL Server?  Ever wondered how SQL Server 2005 builds upon the support for these two technologies as well as adds support for the new XQuery language?  If you have, this is the place to be. Step through the existing support for XML technologies in SQL Server 2000 and then quickly dive into the new XML features in SQL 2005.  We’ll look at a lot of code and a lot of demos.  Prior knowledge of XML and XML programming is assumed.

OLAP Application Development with ADO MD.NET
Andrew Brust, Citigate Hudson
3:15 p.m.
ADO MD.NET, gives you the object model convenience of “classic” ADO MD without its COM InterOp dependency, and can provide “flattened” cellsets in the form of DataSets and DataReaders. We’ll discuss how to use ADO MD.NET against SQL Server 2000 and 2005 Analysis Services cubes, how it can be used to leverage new SQL Server 2005 OLAP features, and how it ties in with the legacy APIs (ADO MD and XML/A).

Programming with SQL Server Management Objects (SMO)
Richard Hundhausen, Accentient, Inc.
4:30 p.m.
SQL Server Management Objects (SMO), just like its predecessor SQL Server Distributed Management Objects (SQL-DMO) and SQL-OLE before that, offers programmatic control over nearly every aspect of a SQL Server. Unlike its predecessors, SMO is 100 percent managed code, leveraging all of the good qualities of the .NET runtime. We'll look at these features: SMO fly-by and design goals, delayed instantiation, capture mode, and releasable state - with many demonstrations.

Data Mining Primer using SQL Server 2005
Jack Hakim, EC Wise
4:30 p.m.
SQL 2005 will ship with very sophisticated datamining tools that are going to change what we can accomplish and how our applications convert data to useful knowledge for the user. In this fast paced class, you will be introduced to “what” is data mining. We will review the benefits of data mining, the types of problems you can address, and see demos of the core data mining tools available in SQL 2005 and how to make tradeoffs of the different techniques. We will go over a simple guideline that will help you identify which algorithms to use based on the type of problem you have and the type of data available. We will review all the core data mining algorithms in SQL Server 2005 including Naïve Bayes, Decision Trees, Neural Nets, Clustering, Association, and Time Series.

Replication in SQL Server 2005
Terry Weiss, Mentis Solutions
5:45 p.m.
Replication can be simple to set up, but can be a headache to design and maintain. We’ll review the various topologies available and discuss some of the challenges to distributed system from security to communication and provide solutions to common problems.

Making the Move to Integration Services in SQL Server 2005
Trey Johnson, Encore Development
5:45 p.m.
Take a detailed look at some of the common design patterns that surfaced in SQL Server 2000 DTS and that migrate gracefully to the Integration Services 2005 platform.   

Wednesday, February 9

Queries: The Need For Speed
Robert Patton, Optimum Technology
10:30 a.m.
No query can run fast enough. Often developers use the execution plan as a crutch to tune specific queries. Instead of relying on tuning specific queries, make your data access perform better by writing your queries better. Learn when and how you should utilize the various data transfer methods available to you, how to make it more likely that you will hit your execution plans, and more.

Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET
Christian Shay, Oracle
10:30 a.m.
Learn how Windows developers can improve their productivity when building Oracle applications with the new Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET. We’ll show the tightly integrated new tool set within Visual Studio .NET that makes building Oracle database applications on Windows easier and faster. See demonstrations of features such as browsing the Oracle schema, automatic code generation, wizards and designers, viewing and editing Oracle data, stored procedure editing, and more.

SQL Abuse
Chuck Urwiler, Mentis Solutions
11:45 a.m.
Admit it: You sometimes find yourself saying “this would be so much easier if I could just loop through these records." As useful as SQL is, it sometimes seems a bit opaque when you want to work with row-based data. We’ll take apart the basic SELECT statement and see what makes it tick. We will also look at some of the new constructs like Common Table Expressions. In the process, we will discover some new ways to do old things, all in the context of the basic SELECT statement. And if you're not careful you just may learn something you need for that next project.

SQL Server Mobile Edition: The Next Generation of Mobile Data Management
Abdelmalek Kemmou, Arrabeta
11:45 a.m.
Discover the next version of the SQL Server CE database, and how it fits in the world of semi-connected mobile computing. Explore the major features of SQL Server Mobile Edition, the enhancements compared to previous versions and the new scenarios it enables. We'll cover various features including integration with SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005, enhanced device support for Windows Mobile Smartphone and other devices, synchronization, data consistency, the improved query processor, multi-user capability and row-level locking.

Indexing Best Practices for SQL Server 2000
Kimberly Tripp, SYSolutions, Inc.
3:15 p.m.
Learn about the most important strategies for index and base table structuring, as well as how to keep those structures optimal. Whether your system is 24/7 or you are just trying to set up for future growth and improved performance, the information you need is here. We’ll cover the often-overlooked impacts of poorly chosen clustered indexes, where and why clustered indexes help the most, and how the type of table and the type/frequency of your queries affect your decisions.

Implementing SQL Express
Bill Vaughn, Beta V Corp.
3:15 p.m.
SQL Express (reincarnated MSDE) has been knighted to replace the JET/Access database engine in many applications. Because SQL Express does not behave like JET in many respects, it’s tough for developers to understand how to control it from their applications. Take a look at the differences between SQL Express over MSDE and JET SQL Server standard Edition, how to create SQL Express instances, and how to configure it to support mixed-mode security as well as act as a shared server engine.

New Indexing Features in SQL Server 2005
Kimberly Tripp, SYSolutions, Inc.
4:30 p.m.
What's changed? What do you need to learn and be ready for when SQL Server 2005 releases? We’ll look at online index rebuilds, changes to alter index, deprecated syntax for index-related DBCC commands, new DMVs that pertain to index usage statistics and more.

Advanced Report Authoring with SQL Reporting Services
Thomas Rizzo, Microsoft
4:30 p.m.
Reporting Services brings a wealth of new possibilities for developers building on the Microsoft platform. We’ll walk you through more advanced techniques for authoring reports in Reporting Services and will also introduce you to working with Reporting Services programmatically from your applications.  Topics covered include the Reporting Services Web Services programming, the new Report Controls in SQL Server 2005, and advanced tips and tricks for authoring using the Visual Studio Report Designer.