Activate Conference 2019: Databases 101 for the Aspiring App Dev Session Info and Resources

A special hello if you're visiting this blog post during or after my workshop on Thursday afternoon, April 4 at the Louisiana Tech Park as park of the Activate Conference 2019!

Here are all the links, downloads, and more you need:

Databases 101 for the Aspiring App Dev
Workshop Student Track
1:00 PM

Presentation Downloads:

Slide deck: Download link  (.pptx files) 

Sample TSQL 101 script: Download link (.sql file)

Links to get setup with MS SQL Server:

This is the link to download SQL for FREE:

• SQL Server 2017 Downloads, click Developer

The tools to dev in the Microsoft ecosystem are all free:

• SSMS (for the SQL Server) 
• SSDT (for SSRS, SSIS, SSAS, also for Database Projects) (installs a shell of Visual Studio)
• Visual Studio Community Edition or Visual Studio Code

Download the WideWorldImporters sample database:

• WideWorldImporters-Full.bak (restore to any Edition aside from LocalDB)

Toolbox: Github (.sql files)

• Look for toolbox.zip for an easy download, or 
• Click on each file then download, or 
• Click on each file, click “raw” on each file to copy/paste

Activate Conference 2019: Three Days of Tech Learning

Thursday April 4 I'll be giving a workshops at the super-slick-branded Activate Conference 2019 in Baton Rouge at the Louisiana Technology Park, a conference filled with people and topics much cooler than me and my "Databases 101 for the Aspiring App-Dev" 1.5 hour workshop.

Activate is an event that aims to enrich our local tech community by establishing and furthering the careers of individuals in the web and technology field.

3-Day registration for the whole conference, which includes a day of workshops, a hackathon, and a Saturday conference, is free for students. VIP Admission is also available which includes a t-shirt, swag bag and kickoff dinner.

On Saturday, Sparkhound will be hosting a table with our third annual Lego deconstruction competition, with an prize for the fastest times!

See you there, and best of luck to the organizers: Isral, Quinton, Lynsey, and all their many helpers and volunteers!

Backup of an Azure SQL DB downloaded outside of Azure

From a dev colleague: “Asking for a client... do you know how to get a backup of an Azure SQL DB downloaded outside of Azure?”

Short answer - You can’t…

Medium answer - … and you don’t really need to for anything related to DR or HA. Backups are automagically handled in Azure, Azure SQL DB georeplication can be set up in a few button clicks. Instead of thinking of Azure SQL DB as a traditional SQL database in a server, think of it as a platform, consider spinning up a stand-alone copy of the production Azure SQL DB in a cheaper tier to set as pre-production. It’d be a better, truer dev/test/qa environment as a result.

Long answers – Okay, so you really want to get the Azure SQL DB to an on-prem SQL Server instance. Sigh.

1. You can manually script it out into CREATE and INSERT T-SQL statements – schema and data – with various tools, including a compare with SSDT, or an officially supported free crossplatform scripter that is Python-based. Keep in mind this might be a huge file and a lengthy manual process with a large database.

2. You could also use the “Export” button on the Azure portal for the Azure SQL DB to create a BACPAC on an Azure storage account. The file is locked with a username/password which you specify at the time of export.  It will take a few minutes, even for a small database. Once it's done, you can download the .bacpac file from the blob location with Azure Storage Explorer or something similar, and then import the .bacpac. Keep in mind that this might also be a huge file, and a lengthy manual process with a large database.