When writing database queries in something like TSQL or PLSQL, we often have a choice of iterating over rows with a cursor to accomplish the task, or crafting a single SQL statement that does the same job all at once. Also, we have the choice of simply pulling a large set of data back into… Continue reading Set-based processing Vs Row-based processing (Cursor / Loop)
A statement is issued by an application. SQL Server compiles the statement and determines the types of locks that are needed to most efficiently satisfy the query. Once all locks are acquired, the transaction is in a ready state. SQL Server will begin operations and release locks as appropriate. Lock acquisition and release varies by… Continue reading Locking and Isolation Levels
ORM Tips Parameterized queries are exactly the same as stored procedures in terms of performance and memory management. Since most ORM tools can use either stored procedures or parameterized queries, be sure you’re coding to these constructs and not hard-coding values into your T-SQL queries. Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) queries can all be generated from the ORM tool without… Continue reading Database Performance for Developers
With symmetric encryption, both the sender and recipient share a key that is used to perform both encryption and decryption. Symmetric encryption involves the following steps: The sender creates a ciphertext message by encrypting the plaintext message with a symmetric encryption algorithm and a shared key. The sender sends the ciphertext message to the recipient.… Continue reading Symmetric Encryption Vs Asymmetric Encryption
The X.509 specification defines a standard for managing public keys through a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Public keys are maintained in X.509 certificates, which are digital documents that bind a subject’s identity claims to a public key from a public/private asymmetric key pair. Identity claims are usually understandable by humans, such as a person’s full… Continue reading x509 Certificate – Asymmetric encryption and Digital Signatures
Web services often need to be able to authenticate their callers (other applications). One authentication technique is to require callers of the Web service to present a client certificate. There are two common situations where client certificates are used: An ASP.NET Web application calls a Web service that uses certificate authentication. An application running under… Continue reading Call a Web Service Using Client Certificates
Overview SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 (SSRS) is a feature included in the SQL Server 2008 product. We use SSRS to design, develop, test, and deploy reports. SSRS leverages the Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) developer tool for all aspects of authoring and deploying reports. BIDS is included with SQL Server 2008. In this tutorial… Continue reading SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) – Part 1
“We do two week sprints here,” said Daniel. “Each fortnight we pick the items from the backlog that we’re going to do, and we do them. At the end of the fortnight, we demo it to Michael, and do a retrospective. The project has been going for about 8 months.” “Who is Michael?” I asked.… Continue reading Two week sprints; twelve month releases
The Microsoft Build Engine (MSBuild) is the build platform for Microsoft and Visual Studio. MSBuild has been shipped as a component of the .NET framework since it was first introduced in 2005 with .NET 2.0. Starting with Visual Studio 2013, the 2013 version of MSBuild will ship as a part of Visual Studio instead of the… Continue reading MSBuild Overview
I’ve definitely seen my fair share of source code chaos. Take a 3 man development team working on their SaaS app. Things should be pretty simple, but someone took a peek at the branching guide on Codeplex and now they have 10 different branches, don’t know when to forward integrate or reverse integrated, and when… Continue reading TFS Branching and Merging
Sachi Mani 