The first user group meeting I ever attended was in 1992. It was held at the Microsoft offices in Bellevue, WA, to discuss a new Microsoft offering called "certification." When one of the Microsoft representatives asked me which product I worked with, I replied "SQL Server." He responded by saying "Oh, you write programs with ODBC!"   No, was my answer, but I didn’t go on to explain that I didn’t even know what ODBC was at the time.  Even now, it seems that a lot of developers (not SQL Server developers, but developers in general) have a hard time understanding what a DBA actually does, and an even harder time understanding what database tuning and database design are all about. After all, what can you do with a database other than write programs that access the data?  (That is a rhetorical question.)

So is SQL Server a development product or an IT product? Although I did a bit of development way back in my Sybase days using DB-Library for C, I would never consider myself to be a developer, unless you consider writing T-SQL queries to access system tables and rewriting system stored procedures to be development. When my first book (Inside SQL Server 7.0) came out, I was dismayed to see that Microsoft Press had classified it as a Developers title, and I argued vehemently that the book wasn't just for developers. However, I was overruled.

Does it matter whether you consider yourself to be an IT pro or a developer, or if SQL Server is an IT product or a developer product? It does if you're going to TechEd. TechEd Europe was split into two separate weeks a couple of years ago, with a week for developers and a week for IT pros. This year, Microsoft has announced that the same division will apply in the United States. If you go to http://www.microsoft.com/events/teched2008/developer/default.mspx, you can read that “This year, for the first time in the United States, Tech•Ed offers a premier technical education conference just for developers." And if you go to http://www.microsoft.com/events/teched2008/itpro/default.mspx, you can read that “This year, for the first time in the United States, Tech•Ed offers the premier technical education conference just for IT professionals,” However, both of these announcements are wrong. Back in 1999, Microsoft split TechEd into two parts, but it lasted for only one year. I thought it was because it was too hard for some people to figure out which label—IT pro or developer—to give themselves. But Microsoft is trying again.

So if you're a SQL Server person, how do you decide which TechEd to attend? Both TechEd Developers and TechEd IT Professionals include a track called Database Platform. Some job functions are primarily SQL Server application development, and some might be almost all administrative, but in the SQL Server world, there's an enormous amount of crossover. If you develop in T-SQL, are you a developer or an IT pro? I used to write a regular column for the TSQL Solutions Journal (which used to be part of SQL Server Magazine) called T-SQL for Administrators and felt that administrators had just as much need to know how to program in SQL as application developers do.   TechEd IT Professional includes topics that I have always thought were of primary interest to query developers, such as understanding query plans and implementing useful indexes. The Developer week includes topics that always used to be seen in an Administrator track, such as SQL Server tracing. In fact, in SQL Server 2005, you have to have system administrator privileges to run a trace. Database owners (who aren’t system administrators as well) need not apply. And both weeks include sessions about how to use the SQL Server extensions to PowerShell in SQL Server 2008.

So again, how do you choose? Among my colleagues, the people who call themselves SQL Server developers are going to TechEd Developers, and the people who call themselves DBAs are going to TechEd IT Professionals. But the people who are SQL Server consultants, SQL Server tuners, or who write or teach about SQL Server (and feel they need to know something about everything) are going to both weeks. Those people aren't content with labeling themselves as either developer or IT pro. They just want to learn about SQL Server.

End of Article


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Reader Comments

In our organization there is a definate split between Developers and IT Pros (or DBAs as they like to be referred to). The latter are happy to explain they need have no interest or knowledge of programming or database design, and their only role is to maintain the databases on the instance, to implement exactly what the developer gives them (without checking it first), and not to do any troubleshotting, unless it involved back-ups, restores or administering the server intance itself. This also includes removing linked servers, as they should be taken care of at the application level and not on the server instance. I guess these chaps would not need to attend either conference, as all they need to know is in the most basic of SQL Administration books.

Logicalman- May 15, 2008

Article Rating 4 out of 5

Logicalman seems to have "operators". There's a nasty hangover from the early days of corporate computing. Good operators might become programmers, good programmers might become designers, then analysts. The assumption still held by many developers (and managers) is that non-programmer IT staff are just operators; the people who reset passwords and unjam printers. Incapable people who want to work in IT often get shuffled into these roles, perpetuating the belief. What they miss is a whole other group of people that originally weren't on staff - they came under contract from the system vendor (engineers, system architects). Databases, networks, security, application management, have all increased in complexity and most companies with significant IT staff need skilled people in these areas. Arguably, this got worse with Windows NT Server, which created the illusion that anyone who can use a mouse can manage servers.

gnash@namoicotton.com.au- May 15, 2008

Article Rating 4 out of 5

In my company there is a lot of crossover between two type of tasks. This is simply because the way we develop has an influence on the way we need to manage the database. It is the best to have a feet in both world.

I find this conference division (IT versus developper) annoying. I think it is just a way to split the enormous amount of great information that we can gather on SQL. The only problem with it is that because of this division they put excellent concurrent (IT vs developper) sessions at the same time and it force you to do difficult choices.

pelsql- May 16, 2008

Article Rating 5 out of 5

Thanks for the comments..I'd almost forgotten about 'operators'. When I started programming, we had decks of cards that the 'operators' fed into the machines. We never even saw the computers themselves. There was a window where we submitted our card decks, and then another window where we picked up our output, hoping we just hadn't made some silly typo and would have to have to resubmit the whole thing!

And I absolutely agree with pelsql that a good SQL Server professional should have their feet in both arenas!

~Kalen

KDelaney- May 18, 2008

Article Rating 5 out of 5

good points.

cbachmann- May 20, 2008

Article Rating 4 out of 5

In our environment, the Sarbanes police have forced a complete separation. DBAs are not allowed to write ANY code that will go into production, because we have administrative rights on the servers. We're only allowed to apply scripts for stored procedures and data changes that are promoted by the change control authority. As such, we've also been removed from database design, but we're responsible for perfomance. And this isn't some fly-by-night auditing operation: we've gotten the same strictures laid down by Price-Waterhouse Coopers and by KPMG. I'd like to see a survey of database professionals and a full accounting of their responsibilities. That would make a great survey.

kriscook2- June 09, 2008

Article Rating 4 out of 5

 
 

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