BI projects in SQL Server Data Tools

SQL Server  Data Tools(SSDT) installs when you install SQL Server 2012 (even the SQL Server 2012 Express edition). SSDT has all the necessary project templates to start a Business Intelligence project. However it will not have the templates for other language projects such as C#, VB.NET etc.

SSDT allows you to create all the Business Intelligence related projects by providing templates for the projects. You can also create SQL Server projects as shown here:

ssisProj03
Here is an example of creating a SQL Server Integration Services project using the Visual Studio Shell launched by SSDT that gets installed with the SQL Server.

http://hodentekmsss.blogspot.com/2015/02/sql-server-data-toolsssdt-installs-when.html

More posts on SSDT here:
http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2013/10/ssdt-bi-templates-for-sql-server-2012.html

http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2014/07/new-update-to-sql-server-data-tools.html

http://hodentek.blogspot.com/2014/03/sql-server-data-tools-to-go-with-sql.html

How do you add a database connection to Server Explorer in VS 2012?

Report authoring is perhaps one of the most frequently required activities in an enterprise. Knowledge of report authoring is an invaluable asset when one is looking for a job in an enterprise. Before you can write a report you will have to know where your data is and how to get connected to it from your authoring software. Report authors who are not very comfortable with using data on a back end server could use the more powerful and highly interactive Power View reports, but this requires a developer in your organization to create a model for you to work with. Once the model in place it is super easy to create stunning reports. This is only possible on SQL Server 2012 with the reporting services installed in SharePoint integrated mode.

The following is specific to SQL Server Reporting Services, but this is important for any authoring tool. In the following Visual Studio 2012 is presumed and a web project is to be created to demonstrate the use of Report Viewer Control.

Presently the Server Explorer has the following items:

 

If you do not see Server Explorer you click View in the main menu and click Server Explorer as shown:

Presently there is a connection established with the Adventure Works 2012 database on the SQL Server 2012 named Kailua.

Click Connect to Server item on Server Explorer tool bar shown.

The Add Server window is displayed as shown.

The name of the computer is provided (you provide the name of your computer). Click OK.

Adding a Data Connection

Click Connect to Database toolbar item as shown.

Or you can right click Data Connection and start as well.

Assume that we clicked Connect to Database.

The Add Connection window is displayed as shown.

This is because before getting to the database you must first get connected to the server. Notice that the Microsoft SQL Server (SqlClient) is the default. It can be changed to others by hitting the Change... ellipsis button and following the wizard.

For now accept the default. Click on the handle for Server Name after hitting the Refresh button. You see three servers, a SQL Server 2012 (Kailua); a SQL Server 2008 R2 (Maui) and a SharePoint Server.

Click HODENTEKWIN7\KAILUA to choose the server. The Add Connection window is updated as shown. We accept the default authentication, Windows Authentication.

Click on the handle for the Select or enter a name for the database field to display the drop-down list as shown.

Click Northwind. It could be another database in your case. Click the Test Connection button and verify that the connection was successful as shown.

Click OK on the above message window and click OK on the Add Connection window. The new database connection will be added to the Visual Studio 2012’s Server Explorer as shown.

That is all for now.

Mahalo

My new book uses images / screenshots such as the above to guide you through the learning process. The instructions are very simple and most of the steps are described.

http://www.packtpub.com/learning-sql-server-2008-reporting-services/book

http://www.packtpub.com/learning-sql-server-reporting-services-2012/book

Published today: Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch Business Application Development

This book was published today (Sept 21, 2011).

Visual Studio LightSwitch or simply LightSwitch is the latest addition to Microsoft's VS Suite. I believe this is game changing software when it comes to data-centric applications for the Desktop, or the web, or for the Microsoft Cloud Platform.

I started writing this book during the Beta 1 period and finished soon after the RTM. Before RTM there was a Beta 2 which was almost a finished product.  Similar to my other books, each chapter builds upon the previous, and by the time you finish, I believe you will have learnt a lot about LightSwitch. Instead of taking a real business application and explain away how LightSwitch implements the application - a top-down approach, I have taken a bottom-up approach building bit by bit from scratch. Another reason for this approach was the fact that there are already very many online resources which utilize the top-down approach.

Of course, similar to my other books, this book is also replete with screen shots, and you can find codes both in VB and C# for most of the chapters. The projects created to describe the contents of the chapters can be downloaded from Packt site.

Here is the table of contents:

• Preface

• Chapter 1: Getting Started with Microsoft LightSwitch
• Chapter 2: Microsoft LightSwitch IDE and Architecture
• Chapter 3: Accessing Data from a VSLS Application
• Chapter 4: Screens in VSLS application
• Chapter 5: Working with Entities
• Chapter 6: Querying and Filtering Data
• Chapter 7: Writing Code in Microsoft LightSwitch
• Chapter 8: Authentication and Authorization in Microsoft LightSwitch
• Chapter 9: Deploying LightSwitch Applications
• Chapter 10: Troubleshooting, Debugging, Custom Controls, and Extensions
• Index

A sample chapter is available here.