You need to get work done. You need to get it done quickly. You don’t have time to dig through books online to figure out the syntax to get something done. But you want to learn. What do you do instead?
One of the neatest features of a tool like Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio is the ability to do a huge amount of database manipulation using GUI tools, and then script your requirements to a clipboard, query window, or even to a file.
I’ve seen it used for learning syntax to create or alter tables, modify stored procedures, build triggers, create and modify views, manage users and grant permissions, define scheduled jobs and much more.
Nearly everything you can do in SQL Server Management Studio has an option to generate a script to accomplish what you define in the GUI.
Have you found this capability to be of value? How have you used scripting to increase your knowledge, or help you be more efficient? Share your experience by sending an Email to btaylor@sswug.org.
Cheers,
Ben