Geoff Orr Blog

Adam Cogan and Justin King present the differences between nHibernate and Linq to Entities.

 

It was a great session but every database guy in the house cringed.

It almost requires you to not use stored procedures ever again.  We didn't even attempt to review the quality of the SQL output.

 

Linq came out on top for functionality but some cried foul.  This will be extreemely productive for developers but once again we seem to be focusing on speed of development rather than quality of the outcome.

 

Greg Low talks date issues.  This session is unbelievable.  That after the Millenium Bug debacle we have loads of problems with dates is Bizare.

 

Here is a takeaway use YYYYMMDD as it is language independant but YYYY-MM-DD is not.

 

 

Jonas Folleso

 

So Jonas has shown us Silverlight.  I could really get into this.

 

I mean here is a web based interface that actually looks in control.  OK so flash has done it for years but this is a Microsoft product that could get me excited about web stuff again.

 

Ok here we are again in Wagga.  Having already had a pre conference half day.  It was uite good.  Greg gave a presentation on 2008 that was ineresting.  There should be quite a bit of stuff to sink our teeth into.

 

Jeff Wharton gave a presentation on compact edition of SQL Server and it was the first time I thouht hey this has a use.

 

Greg Low gave a session on presenting at Tech Ed pass etc.  I hope to take that away.

 

I have done some of this lately so lets do some basics first.

 

AD is  tree structure so everything is nodes.

 

Generally you begin with the Root node.

 

So here is our scenario.  My domain controller is a server called Wombat001 the domain is WOMBAT and the domain name is WOMBAT.COM.

 

So the LDAP root node is LDAP://WOMBAT:389/DC=WOMBAT,DC=com

 

This is used to instantiate the DirectoryEntry object as follows

 

DirectoryEntry dirEntry = new DirectoryEntry(LDAP://WOMBAT:389/DC=WOMBAT,DC=COM);

 

This is your entry point and the main link to AD.

 

OK so I have visited Rob Farley and crew at the SQL Server group in Adelaide.  I was showing how to configure and install Integration services using a parent package and two child packages passing the connections strings from the parent to the child.

 

Here is the lab that I developed for the presentation.

 

 http://www.sqlserver.org.au/resources/ViewResource.aspx?resourceId=85

Most of you will know this was a blog about my attempts to become a MCSD a qualification still relevant but redundant.  Here is the rub somewhere along the line it no longer became my stated goal.

 

In truth I was attempting to solidify my position in a new country having lived in the UK for over 12 years and wanted to reestablish myself.  What I wanted to do is train as that is what I have received the biggest positive feedback in my career.  So plan was MCAD then MCT, MCSD and out to train the world.

 

So why have I not acheived my original goal.  A better question is why has my goals changed.  I didn't become a MCT after acheiving my MCAD as the opportunities did not seem to be there.  Most of the training companies use fairly inexperienced (cheap) people. So I set about consolidating my experience.

 

I am now looking at getting back to training as I love doing it which is of course the right motivation.  I have to leave behind the goal of being an MCSD but it was more about proving myself to me rather than needing another certification. 

 

I have not done an exam for two years but am committed to get my "p something something" or whatever the new qualifications is.