Jessica M. Moss

To start working with the management side of SQL Server Reporting Services 2008, I decided to set up a report server and report manager. Unfortunately, I made a mistake while setting up my configuration that left me a little perplexed. Here are the steps I took to cause, track down, and solve the issue. Problem: I began by opening the Reporting Services Configuration Manager from the Start Menu. I clicked through each of the menu options and accepted the defaults for any question with a warning symbol, since warning symbol typically designate an action item. After two minutes, all of the warning symbols had disappeared, and I was ready to begin managing my report server. Unfortunately, opening up a browser and trying to open up the report manager resulted in the dreaded " The report server has encountered a configuration error. (rsServerConfigurationError) " message. Sherlock-ing it: I put on my sleuthing hat and went to the log file directory: C:\Program Files\Microsoft...

I’ve recently had the pleasure of diving into Reporting Services 2008 RC0, and I’m amazed at the difference in the design environment from SSRS 2000/2005! To give a comparison of the designer, I took a look at the BIDS Reporting Services project. Overall, I think this version is more slick and more user-friendly (once I find everything again :) ) than its predecessor. To begin, there is no longer a Data tab in the main frame of the design environment. You can find your DataSets and Fields on the “Report Data” window on the left side of your designer. If you lose your Report Data window, click the View menu > Report Data, or just select Ctrl-Alt-D. Also joining the new Report Data family are Report Parameters, originally found on the Report menu, and Fields, originally on its own window. A look at the new RS would be remiss without mentioning the new Tablix control. From the toolbox, you still select a Table, Matrix, or List control, but these are templates for the Tablix contr...

I've been tagged with the Software Development meme, courtesy of Andy Leonard . And, we're off! How old were you when you first started programming? I was 13 years old in the eighth grade. I took an Introduction to Programming class with an amazing teacher. Thanks to Mr. Creasy, I've been hooked ever since. How did you get started in programming? My father was a computer programmer, so I guess I come by it naturally. I used to help my teachers work their classroom computers in elementary school, and then tried my hand at programming in middle school. What was your first language? BASIC. Not VB.Net. Not Visual Basic. Just BASIC. How many Millennials can say that? ;) What was the first real program you wrote? Hello world... Or something along those lines that was pretty simple. What languages have you used since you started programming? BASIC, C++, Java, C#, VB.NET, ASP.NET, T-SQL, MDX... others I'm sure... What was your first professional programming gig? My fir...

I just finished the book The Elements of Mentoring by W. Brad Johnson and Charles R. Ridley at the suggestion of Andy Warren in his blog series on mentoring . While I’ve been fortunate enough in my career to have many people have advised, taught, and coached me, I’ve never been involved in a formal mentor-protégé relationship. After reading all of the work involved, I’m surprised anyone would want to! That statement is partly tongue-in-cheek because it is apparent after reading this book that a successful pairing can be mutually beneficial. Here are just a few thoughts on the book. The Elements of Mentoring starts by discussing how to be a good mentor, namely that it is important to have both the right personality and the right skill set. It struck me as I read that for most of the advice, I could replace mentor/protégé with any relationship pair, i.e. parent/child, person/spouse, etc. For example, the important of bolstering the protégé’s confidence is a pillar of good parenti...

I'm excited to be making the trip up to Vancouver on June 26 to speak at the Vancouver PASS User Group on the new features of SSIS 2008. Also speaking will be Smruti Parab on SQL Server 2008 SSAS and Scott Stauffer on the new features of SSRS 2008. In my presentation, we'll take a look at the data profiler task, the new lookup transformation functionality, and whatever else strikes me before that time. :) If you're in the area, I hope to see you there!

Expressions in SQL Server Integration Services packages allow you to dynamically change values during the execution of a package. Each time you create an expression, it's as though you're creating a little program to retrieve the desired value. One use of an expression is to split a value into chunks that can be configured and used in multiple places. A common example is separating out file information into a file path and a file name, where the file path is the reusable piece. The file path can then be managed through a configuration and modified at any time. The expression usually looks similar to this:      @[User::FilePath] + @[User::FileName] or maybe this:      @[User::FilePath] + "\\" + @[User::FileName] The obvious problem is that you need to remember to add (or not add) the back slash on the file path. By extending our "little program", we can handle either situation at the same time, like so:      @[User::FilePath] + ...

As well as adding new components and performance improvements to SQL Server Integration Services 2008, the team made some UI changes to the existing components to help increase developer productivity. It's the small things that can really make a difference when you're building your packages! Here are a few examples of the additions: Script Transformation The "Script" menu is now the first/default menu that opens up when you select Edit. So rather than pushing two buttons to actually get to the meat, you only have to push one. Gone are the days of having to remember the exact name, spelling, case, and namespace of your variables. Now there is a window that allows you to select which variables you want to lock for reading or writing. Row Count Transformation Another variable drop-down! OLE DB Source When using the Data Access mode: "SQL Command from variable", the value of the variable is now displayed beneath the variable name. No more digging in the Variable...