Microsoft has released a Community Techology Preview (CTP) build of SQL Server 2005 SP1. The release date of the final (RTM) bits of SP1 is not announced yet but it shouldn't be that far away (most likely within a month or so).
Read articleToday, Microsoft announced that SQL Server Express Advanced will be available publicly instead of distributed as a private beta. The CTP (Community Technology Preview) build could be downloaded here (link will be live soon). You can post question and comments in the SQL Express MSDN Forum or enter bugs and feature requests on the MSDN Product Feedback Center.
Read articleTelligent has done it again! Community Server 2.0 is out and it's too sleek to ignore. I am planning to upgrade Prologika Forums to CS 2.0 tonight. If all is well, tomorrow Prologika Forums will have a facelift and more features. I hope the upgrade process won’t last too long and won’t cause service interruptions.
Read articleThere are two “shy” data extensions that come with RS 2005 but you won’t see when you create a data source. The first one (SSIS data extension) enables interesting integration scenarios with SQL Server 2005 Integration Services. It allows you to author reports that use data generated by running an Integration Services (SSIS) package. The second one is the SAP data extension for integrating SSRS…
Read articleA little known fact about the SSAS data architecture is that it uses “cartridges” to communicate with the data source. In brief, a cartridge is a XSL stylesheet that defines capabilities of a data source, as well as the rules for optimizing the SQL statements for relational querying and writing. SSAS 2005 ships with set of cartridges for Jet, SQL 70, SQL 2000, Oracle, Teradata,…
Read articleChris Webb tells us that the MDX Solutions book, which we co-wrote with other MDX gurus, is soon to be released. Based on the resources available on the publisher's website, the book looks like a very promising read and I am looking forward to get my hands on it. Unfortunately, during my Applied Microsoft Analysis Services 2005 book project, I didn't have the time to fully research the vast…
Read articleI’ve just learned that I’ve been selected to present at TechEd 2006 US in Boston! I've been honored to present Reporting Services for three consecutive years at TechEd. This time, I will change things a bit and instead of focusing on the development area, I will talk about integrating Reporting Services and Analysis Services. As of now, the main topics I am planning to include are: 1. SSAS…
Read articleIn the first part of this article, you saw how to use the Windows Forms version of the ReportViewer control. The second installment walks you through the differences and discusses the process for using the Web version of the control.
Read articleNick Barclay from Australia has good things to say about my book “Applied Microsoft Analysis Services in Action”. No, I didn’t sweat blood, but I have to admit that writing this one wasn’t easy! It took me almost twice as long to write it as my previous “Microsoft Reporting Services in Action” book. For the most part, that was because Analysis Services is a focal…
Read articleEuan Garden (Product Unit Manager for SQL Server) tells us that SQL Server Express Advanced Services (which includes Reporting Services Express) has reached a beta stage. I emphasized the importance of choosing the right RS edition in one of my previous blogs.
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