I get a lot of questions from my peers about finding a good place to get SQL server interview questions. I have had the privilege of being both the interviewor and interviewee. So, I thought I'd put together a collection on my blog. I look forward to hearing your comments. Please post your favorite or most challenging questions on SQL server.

Here is the list of links to blogs and/or websites that I found useful:

• Comprehensive list of SQL Server Interview questions from Pinal Dave. He is the founder of sqlauthority.com. It's also published at the Code Project website. - http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2007/04/21/sql-server-interview-questions-and-answers- complete-list-download/
• Phone interview tips for DBAs - http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp? tip=1472
• Nishant's 9 part series on SQL interview questions - http://www.careerride.com/SQLServer-Interview-Questions.aspx
• Vyas's collection of SQL Server questions - http://vyaskn.tripod.com/iq.htm
• SQL Developer Interview questions from Tech Republic - http://mssqlinterview.blogspot.com/

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I am asking this question to all of my SQL Server colleagues. There is no right or wrong answer to this. I am interested in learning the experience others have with VLDB systems. Please share your stories. I will compile the responses and make a newer blog entry. That new entry will have your story and link back to your blog if you have any. Feel free to send your responses via facebook, twitter, plaxo, linkedin, livespace, and email. Thanks


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I like the new debugging capabilities of SQL Server 2008. It brings in features such as stepping in, stepping out, and stepping over. This can come handy when we are trying to track the actual issue. I found this feature interesting because it empowers developers to track issues at the most granular level. Now, we can step inside system functions, and stored procedures to figure out the values of internal variables and sets. See the video below for a quick guide on how to debug in SQL Server 2008 management studio.



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I ran into SQLServerpedia.com recently. I thought the concept was interesting. Kevin Kline and his colleagues launched that portal. Just like Wikipedia, users can edit entries related to MS SQL server. This will be a useful work related resource for me.

After reading the entries at the SQL server wiki site, I ran into another site that had an intersting tool. They call it TallEye. The purpose of that tool is to find out where you end up after digging a very deep hole from any location in the world map. So, I dug hole at Bangladesh and found out I'd emerge in South Pacific ocean. Interestingly enough, they did not advise how to bypass the core of earth.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. It does not reflect any one's opinion other than the author.

I started experimenting with Social Media Api such as Facebook, Twitter, GData. There are plenty of libraries in .NET one can take advantage of. Just for fun, I wrote one tool that allows users to save wikipedia articles locally. The data resides in a local SQL compact database. This .NET app integrates status message functionality from facebook and twitter. Feel free to check it out at http://apps.facebook.com/wikiarticlesaver

These days I am also looking at TokBox api. In my humble opinion, Toxbox is a video chat service which integrates the best features in video conferencing, youtube, and skype. I love it. Most recently, I added some of my friends such as Garry Schyman and others there. TokBox was founded by one of the co-founder of youtube, Jawed Karim.

See below for a way to integrate TokBox in a site:
<object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://www.tokbox.com/vc/al8iat0y002k9zad" width="300" height="413" pid="495fd42c4c185981"><param name="movie" value="http://www.tokbox.com/vc/al8iat0y002k9zad"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="flashvars" value="guestList=true&textChat=true"/></object>



This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. It does not reflect any one's opinion other than the author.