SQL Server Magazine

Unlock the Secrets of SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services

See what Microsoft changed in SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 and how these new features will affect you.

What’s New for SQL Developers in Visual Studio 2008 SP1

Visual Studio 2008 SP1 enables many features that didn’t make the cut in the initial Visual Studio 2008 release to manufacturing (RTM). Learn about SP1 reporting and data caching features that developers and architects can leverage in their applications.

Exporting SSRS Reports—For Free

A free utility, Reporting Services Scripter, can help you export SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 reports.

Navigating Microsoft’s Report Designer Maze

A confusing array of Report Designers is available to SQL Server Reporting Services developers. Here's a list of the versions and what they support.

Q: How can I create unique primary keys that are easy for customers to use?

Learn how to create unique primary keys for customer use.

Q: How can I extract reports from a data source for field agents to access while on the road?

Learn how to use Visual Studio’s Microsoft ReportViewer to extract reports.

Q: What's the best way to keep client data on a SQL Server Compact Edition database in sync?

Learn how to use ADO.NET 3.5 Synchronization Services classes to keep data in sync.

Visual Studio .NEXT Wish List

Love Visual Studio 2008? Hardly. The author points out where Microsoft needs to fix VS 2008's shortcomings such as the inability to access the new SQL Server data types of ADO.NET features.

Generate a Clickthrough Report using Visual Studio ReportViewer

See how you can set up a clickthrough report without using SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).

Managing Hierarchical Rowsets

Build a sample application in Visual Studio that can be used to manage hierarchical rowsets populated by stored procedures.

Managing Hierarchical Rowsets

Additional Features

To make the sample TableAdapter application more useful as a general demonstration, I added several features that illustrate a few tricky technical points, including how to import a picture, handle new row initialization, and provide a list of addresses.

Managing ReportViewer Parameters

How do you filter a Reporting Services report at runtime? Stumped? SQL Server guru William Vaughn explains how you can use the ReportViewer control in server mode to collect, validate, and pass parameters to Reporting Services.

Query vs. Report Parameters

What you need to understand the distinction between query and report parameters.

ADO.NET 2.0: Smarter, Faster, Better

The latest release of Microsoft’s data-access tool, ADO.NET 2.0, has a slew of new features designed to solve specific developer problems. Get an overview of what the new release can do to solve your development dilemmas.

Putting Back Missing Visual Studio 2003 Features

In Visual Studio 2005, Microsoft has hidden some commonly used features. Here's how to get back the features you're used to.

Smarter T-SQL Debugging in Visual Studio 2005

T-SQL debugging in earlier versions of Visual Studio required creative workarounds. In Visual Studio 2005, the problems are fixed--and new features make debugging easier.

Reporting Services Tip: Resolving 403.9 Errors on Windows XP

Here's a handy workaround to help you avoid errors that cause Microsoft IIS to lock up when when you're working with SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services on Windows XP.

MSDE Reborn

Microsoft has introduced SQL Server 2005 Express Edition to replace Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE). Find out what’s changed and what’s remained the same!

Beyond T-SQL: Digging into the CLR

Creating this sample credit card encryption application can teach you a lot about the realities of building, testing, and deploying CLR-based stored procedures--and about how the CLR provides functionality that T-SQL can't.