Get moving installing SQL Server 2016 SP1

SQL Server 2016 Service Pack 1 is released  and now generally available(GA).

According to the above release blog:

Many of the features (listed in the table here) available in Enterprise Edition are now available in several other editions as well after installing the SP1 (Standard, web, express and LocalDB).

SQLSrvrSp1_00

Note that Change Data Capture requires SQL Server Agent not available in Express and In Memory OLTP not possible in LocalDB due to security reasons

DBCC CLONEDATABASE added supports cloning of CLR, Filestream/Filetable, Hekaton and Query Store objects are available after installing SP1

DBCC CLONEDATABASE  (source_database_name, target_database_name)    –– Default CLONE WITH SCHEMA, STATISTICS and QUERYSTORE metadata.
DBCC CLONEDATABASE  (source_database_name, target_database_name) WITH NO_STATISTICS                                                                                               –– SCHEMA AND QUERY STORE ONLY CLONE
DBCC CLONEDATABASE  (source_database_name, target_database_name) WITH NO_QUERYSTORE                                                                                              –– SCHEMA AND STATISTICS ONLY CLONE
DBCC CLONEDATABASE  (source_database_name, target_database_name) WITH NO_STATISTICS,NO_QUERYSTORE                                                          –– SCHEMA ONLY CLONE
New Create/Alter supports modifying and deploying database objects such as
Stored Procedures, 
Triggers, 
User–Defined Functions, and 
Views

This is just a short list from more than a dozen others. Make sure you visit the link referenced at the top.

The SQL Server 2016 Enterprise specific sample database, WorldWorldImporters can now be used in Standard and Express editions.

Download SQL Server 2016 SP1 here .

IoT and changing direction of Intel XDK

If you have been using Intel XDK to build apps both HTML5 based and native apps, there is going to be (actually has been going on) a change in the direction. A number of frameworks were used with Intel XDK in the designer. You might have noticed that the number of frameworks are being deprecated. Presently, in version (the latest) 3641 only the Twitter Bootstrap is currently supported and the others are being deprecated.

Intel XDK is going to focus more on IoT apps. The other apps are not going to be supported in the Intel XDK. Since most of the technologies used in developing non-IoT apps are mature, Intel XDK will get provide documentation help to use these technologies.

This is according to Paul, one of the Intel XDK moderators:

" it's not that there is a benefit for developing IoT apps over mobile apps, they are quite different apps; the point is that we are focusing the tool to emphasize IoT app development, especially since the free and open-source tools available for developing, debugging and building Cordova mobile apps have now become quite mature. We will continue to support the development of Cordova mobile apps, but will rely more heavily on these freely available tools, rather than try to compete with them. The product today supports the creation of two basic types of apps: IoT apps and mobile Cordova apps. When we say "IoT companion apps" we simply mean a mobile Cordova app that is focused on working with an IoT app and any supporting IoT cloud services. As the product progresses it will make more sense."



In version 3641

That going forward the emphasis will be on IoT apps makes great sense from the point  view of Intel Corporation. Intel Corporation makes IoT boards of different kinds and will be investing a lot of effort on IoT.

What better way can be there than this change of direction.

More here for all comments on related topic:
https://software.intel.com/en-us/forums/intel-xdk/topic/700951

Visual Studio 2017 RC available

Visual Studio 2017 RC! is now available for download. Download here for free (during trial period):
https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/visual-studio-2017-rc/

VS2017RC_00
I am not sure probably it also went by the name Visual Studio "15".

Read the release notes here as it provides you with most of the enhancements to the IDE; layout for off-line installation; new commandline installation;code navigation related improvements and many more. The release note runs several pages covering all aspects of Visual Studio.
Download release notes here:
https://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/news/releasenotes/vs2017-relnotes

Interesting about the installation is there is a new installer which has good features:

• Reduce the minimum footprint of Visual Studio.
• Install more quickly with less system impact, and uninstall cleanly.
• Make it easier for you to select and install just the features you need.

Earlier you had editions targeting Windows Desktop, Windows Web etc.

There seems to be Visual Studio Community 2017 (yours to keep edition) but I cannot find any links to it except this one:

https://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/productinfo/vs2017-system-requirements-vs

You will hear from me here when I find it.

Mixpanel gives more useful information than Page view

If you want to measure user engagement Page views is standard metric. However, you would like to know more than Page View and you want to know what people are doing with your content. This is where Mixpanel excels (https://mixpanel.com/engagement/).

Review this image in zoom to get the basic idea:

Mixpanel_00

This is how it works:



Look at all options for Analytics and Marketing here:

Mixpanel_01.PNG

If you are a developer go directly here:
https://mixpanel.com/help/reference

Lots of Integration options:

Mixpanel_02

What is more, Power BI can now connect to Mixpanel in the October update.
 

More features enhance Power BI in October update

The October Power BI was out on October 31, 2016. Some often requested features like date slicing and snapping to grid were added. Also added are the grouping; top N filtering; new data connectors and custom R-visuals.

The complete list of October updates are:
Report View
Date slicer
Report gridlines and snap to grid (Preview)
Data label improvements
Map formatting options
Improved date axis range formatting

Analytics
Grouping
Binning
Top N filter
Include/Exclude data points
R-powered custom visuals

Data Connectors
Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Financials
OLEDB
Mixpanel

Query Editing Improvements
Support for table parameters in “Invoke Function” dialog

Other Improvements
Diagnostic information in the “About” dialog
Read full story here:
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/

Review details of OLE DB Connectivity here:
http://hodentekmsss.blogspot.com/2016/11/power-bi-connecting-to-sql-server-2016.html

Over a dozen recent articles on Power BI go here:
http://hodentekmsss.blogspot.com/search?q=powerBI

TypeScript 2.1 ready to go!

Microsoft's TypeScript (also regarded as industrial strength JavaScript)  is getting upgraded with new features:

Improved Inference
Async Functions

TypeScript 2.0 was released as recent as September 2016. TypeScript 2.1 is in RC (release candidate)

The upgrade makes modelling easier and migrating JavaScript to TypeScript easier. Aysnc/await () introduced in ECMAScript 2016  is featured in the new release and makes asynchronous programming easier. It shares same keywords in C#, Dart and Python.

Here is sample code from the msdn blog links above:
=====
async function main() {
 await ping();
}
async function ping() {
 for (var i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
  await delay(300);
  console.log(“ping”);
 }
}
function delay(ms: number) {
 return new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
}
main();
====
Read the rest of the story here if you are into programming with JavaScript.

Vini, Vici, Vidi - Trump vanquishes Hillary to win the election

The victory was decisive. Trump won the Presidency with a huge margin. He won fair and square.

This result is all the more significant as he fought against the entrenched forces; massive advertisement spending from the other side; a ganged-up media; spending a percentage of what the other side spent; against a massive support by the sitting President and the First Lady; and a list too long to dwell upon not to speak of party insiders who wanted him to lose, lose badly.

Now with a clear mandate, he should have an open road towards fulfilling election promises so that those who were hurting for a longtime get some relief. Jobs, jobs and more jobs.

Long live democracy and hope we will have a multi-party government in the future years where there will be possibility of more checks. 

Tour of Munich, Budapest, Vienna, Prague and Salzburg - 3

June 20, 2016

Today we are on the move to Vienna from Budapest and we will visit a place called Szentendre which not really on our route to Vienna. However it not too far from Budapest either.

Szentendre has become a popular tourist spot because of its historical significance with  so many nationalities having lived there in the past and the tourist shops, museums and the church.