Beginners Guide to SQL Server Integration Services Using Visual Studio 2005
Product Details
- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Packt Publishing (December 22, 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1847193315
- ISBN-13: 978-1847193315
- Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
Sql Server Integration Services with the acronym SSIS is a comprehensive ETL tool that made its debut with SQL Server 2005. It is a tool tightly integrated with the Visual Studio 2005 having all the functionalities that its forerunner DTS (Data Transformation Services) had in SQL Server 2000. This does not mean that it is just an improvement over DTS but a product which is totally different with a vastly improved interface; an extensible architecture; an enlarged tool set; ease of integration with other SQL Server Tools such as Analysis Services; capable of supporting connectivity with third party databases and bringing into a central location many database management tasks.
SSIS is a very good data integration tool. It is easy to get started with, but takes some time and experience to master. Although I have some heavy beefs about the 2005 version (metadata management, validation issues, proprietary expression builder, no C# for the Script Task, etc…), all-in-all, I do find SSIS to be good to work with.
I was excited to get this book in the mail, as I know how difficult it is to find a good beginners guide for SSIS. I’m no longer a newbie, but I once was and I found that the good books were almost too advanced and too comprehensive to get some simple tasks done and to get a good understanding of the tool and involved concepts.
Unfortunately, I found this book difficult to read. I also found that it contained many technical inaccuracies. The author (a non-native English speaker I assume) struggles to get good, succinct points across. I am not saying that a total beginner could not get into this book and get a few packages developed, but for Data Warehousing professionals, DBAs, and developers, this is not the book to keep in your reference library.
For example, on page 123, the author writes:
“The Bulk Insert Task cannot be used with any of the data flow transformation components, and in this respect is not as versatile as a data flow task. This task has been provided for backward compatibility.”
Hmmn… First of all, it would be nice to know why the Bulk Insert Task cannot be used with any of the transforms (short answer: The Bulk Insert Task is a Control Flow item). It would also be very helpful to the reader to have an idea why you would select a Bulk Insert over a Data Flow. Lastly, the Bulk Insert Task is *not* provided for backward compatibility!
I do not want to knock the author too much for sentence and paragraph structure. I am currently learning Dutch and wouldn’t dream of being able to develop a technical book in my non-native tongue. I am assuming, of course, that English is not the author’s native language. so this next example might be more geared towards the editors who I think have a responsibility to help ESL authors with these sorts of things. One example, which is indicative of the entire text, is on page 33:
“The default package is empty when created with the name, Package.”
Does this mean if I change the name from “Package” to “FoxPro”, it won’t be empty anymore? Of course, it is easy to understand what the author means here. But it is sentences like this that really make the reading quite difficult and choppy.
As a BI\DW professional, I was terribly disappointed with how the author sets the beginner up for diving into SSIS. For example, the definitions for common terms such as Business Intelligence, Data Warehousing, data mining, data lineage, metadata management, data conformity, data profiling, data quality, dimensions, ETL, OLAP, ROLAP, MOLAP, etc. were either inadequate or missing entirely. I would want beginners under my wing to know a little more about why they are using the tool and not so much a step-by-step cookbook on how to utilize some of the tasks. To me, that is what the help file is for!
Other issues I have:
(1) There are too many screenshots and no figure numbers to refer to them.
(2) Inconsistent naming: Data Flow page, canvass, or view? Task, item, or component? Etc..
(3) In the sections in the beginning of the book, the author attempts to define the SSIS lexicon. The definitions presented in almost every case are inadequate (check OLEDB Command and SCD Task for example). The user would be better off opening BIDS and reading the tooltips of each item!
(4) Using Visual Studio 2005? How about call it what Microsoft does: Business Intelligence Development Studio, or “BIDS”. To be fair, the BIDS and VS shells are exactly the same. The major difference is that if you install BIDS, you have a different set of packages available (SSAS, SSIS, and SSRS) and not C# and ASP.NET (for example). Also, in all the literature (to my knowledge), MS refers to BIDS and not VS. This could be a point of confusion for a beginner.
(5) There was virtually no discussion on best practices. There were several opportunities for the author to introduce some best-practice, good advice for the beginner.
(6) The book’s index is totally inadequate. I can’t believe that there are no terms for letters G, H, I, J, K, L, N, Q, R, U, V, Y or Z! I can understand Q not having anything of significance, but how do I look up the Lookup Task? Row Sampling? Union All?
(7) How about more discussion on error handling, logging, and auditing? These are absolutely critical items that need to be discussed — especially for the beginner!
(8) What about the SCD Task?