Report Localization

In case you are interested in localizing SSRS reports you should definitely take into account approach with using hidden report parameters as described in this blog post - Laser Guided Missiles (Report Localization Though Parameters) .


Happy localizing :)

Regards,

Oleh

Windows Forms Application Development

Recently I have received an email that I have successfully passed beta TS: Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Forms Application Development exam that I tried back in December. Unfortunately I failed the other one - Pro: Designing and Developing Windows Applications Using the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. Definitely I will be trying it one more time. :)

Regards,

Oleh

SSMS 2008 IntelliSense feature

I was really enjoying one of SSMS 2008 new features - IntelliSense. But later it was "dissappearing" and "getting back" somehow. I was connecting to five different SQL server instances. And only two of them were the latest ones (2008). I did not paid much attention to that fact as had been using SSMS 2005 for a while which had no IntelliSense builtin support. The fact that something is not under my control was disturbing me so I started to google around.

The answer was very simple and unexpected. IntelliSense in SSMS 2008 does not work for down-level systems. Then I found an interesting blog post which stated that SSMS 2008 CTP5 and CTP6 had IntelliSense support for all SQL Server down versions. It appeared that there was some kind of defect in server version check logic that allowed IntelliSense to work with down level versions.


100% percent agree with blog post author that it would be nice to have IntelliSense working with all versions. :)


Regards,
Oleh

VS 2008 SP1 and .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 RTM

As it was announced VS2008 SP1 and .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 had been released yesterday.

 VS2008 SP1:

• Download
• Release notes

.Net Framework 3.5 SP1:

• Download
• Release notes

Enjoy :)

Visual Studio 2008 SP1 is required for SQL Server 2008 installations

"Because certain SQL Server 2008 features install components that are also part of the release version of Visual Studio 2008 SP1, SQL Server 2008 requires Visual Studio 2008 with SP1. If Visual Studio 2008 without a service pack is installed instead, it may not work correctly after you install SQL Server 2008."

Euan Garden has a good post demystifying installation confusions.
And MSDN Subscriptions page says that VS 2008 SP1 will be available here after August 11, 2008

So we will need to wait till Monday...
Stay tuned! :)

SQL Server 2008 RTM

SQL Server 2008 has been released!

"REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 6, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the release to manufacturing of Microsoft SQL Server 2008, the new version of the company’s acclaimed data management and business intelligence platform. This version of SQL Server provides powerful new capabilities such as support for policy-based management, auditing, large-scale data warehousing, geospatial data, and advanced reporting and analysis services. SQL Server 2008 provides the trusted, productive and intelligent platform necessary for business-critical applications."

SQL Server 2008 Overview
SQL Server 2008 Dev Center
SQL Server 2008 MSDN forums
Overview White Paper

Can't wait to put my hands on it :)
Enjoy :)

SSRS Resources

Hi there,

In this post I'll provide a list of resources that I find helpful to learn and resolve SSRS issues.

Beginner guides:

• Beginning SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Part 1 by Simple-Talk
• Beginning SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Part 2 by Simple-Talk
• Beginning SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Part 3 by Simple-Talk
• Beginning SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Part 4 by Simple-Talk
• MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 1 of 6) (Level 200) - Introduction
  
• MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 2 of 6) (Level 200) - Delivering Reports
  
• MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 3 of 6) (Level 200) - Report Builder
• MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 4 of 6) (Level 200) - Report Design
• MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 5 of 6) (Level 200) - Extensibility
• MSDN Webcast: Introduction to SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services (Part 6 of 6) (Level 200) - Management and Security
• MSDN Webcast: Intelligent Reporting: Using the Visual Studio 2005 Report Viewer Controls (Level 200)
• MSDN Webcast: Intelligent Reporting: Charting in Depth (Level 300)
• www.gotreportviewer.com
  

SSRS Bloggers:

• SQL Server Reporting Services Team Blog
• Lukasz Pawlowski, PM SSRS Team
• Bob Meyers, Dev Lead SSRS Team
• John Gallardo, Dev SSRS Team
• Chris Hays, Arch SSRS Team
• Chris Baldwin, PM SSRS Team
• Brian Welcker, GPM SSRS Team
• Robert Bruckner, Dev SSRS Team
• Russell Christopher, BI
• Teo Lachev, MVP
• James Wu
• Lev Semenets
• Chaitanya Medikonduri
• Tudor Trufinescu
• Steve Wright

Other:

• SSRS Dev Center
• SSRS 2005 MSDN forum
• SSRS 2008 MSDN forum
  

Hope this helps somebody.
Regards,
Oleh