 Tuesday, December 14, 2004
MSN Desktop Search vs Google Desktop Search
I stated using Google proper (www.google.com) since it was faster (and still is) to type in DataReader.Read() into Google and get to the MSDN page than search MSDN itself. This was back in about 2000 when Google released the www.google.com/microsoft.html page that indexes all the Microsoft specific sites (including blogs and 3rd party sites besides MSDN content).
I installed the Google toolbar as well as the Yahoo, A9 and MSN toolbars and played with them the best I could, but I always came back to Google. Until after its IPO, it removed the “search Microsoft” from its drop down list and I had to bookmark www.google.com/microsoft.html.
I was very excited about Google Desktop and installed it right away. I was marginally impressed. I did not like the web interface-why bother with creating a web server on the user’s machine, if you are going to install custom software why not something easier to manage? That said I started to use it anyway. After some time of using it I came to notice that all I was really concerned with was email and attachments in email, so on the advice of Adam Cogan (gulp) I installed Lookout (which Microsoft has since purchased) and used that extensively-as it is better than Google Desktop for email searches and it integrated into Outlook, I even uninstalled Google Desktop from machine.
So when Microsoft yesterday announced the new MSN toolbar that also performed Desktop Search I was not immediately excited. Like the curious cat that I am, I installed it anyway.
I was surprised! MSN Toolbar/Desktop Search is a far superior product than Google Desktop (and Lookout). Here is why:
The toolbars have the same functionality but Google took about 3 days to archive and MSN about an hour.
MSN search has English Questions Ask it: “What is the capital of the Netherlands” and Encarta will come up along with the answer as well as web links below it. Google just has links.
MSN has superior local search, but Google is catching up fast.
**Google does have that super cool autcomplete in beta and announced today that it was scanning in textbooks and university libraries.
True Google has Newsgroup archives, but I rarely ever use that-old Newsgroups are not as interesting to me as current ones which now MSN can do via indexing Outlook Express (you have to subscribe to them first though)
Using MSN Toolbar on the desktop is great. I usually don’t have this sort of reaction to software. It has autocomplete and immediate feedback as you type. I typed in “Clem” and it knew I was searching for Clemens Vasters.
It is super smart and real fast. It even indexes data better than Google. It even picked up an XML file of some old sample data from a Conference-Google Desktop did not.
It is still in beta and not perfect (why not index .CS files???), but I am already using it as my main search for the web and desktop. I had been hard code Google user for 4 years-it has not come to an end.
Monday, December 13, 2004
SQL Server 2005 Preview, 10K in the park and a German in the house
Come one, come all, this Thursday at the NYC .NET Developers Group, Andrew, Bill and I will give a real in-depth sneak peak on SQL Server 2005 including a tools overview, TSQL, XQuery,XML, Service Broker, OLAP and the Unified Demensional Model. Too bad Clemens will not be there, he is arriving on Friday and spending the weekend at my place for some year end partying. Maybe we will rewrite dasBlog to use SQL Server 2005. (Most likely we will just drink a lot and fall down.)
Did another race this weekend, 10K in Central Park. 8:39 pace, no way I can hold that up for an entire marathon.
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Last Name
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First Name
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Sex/
Age
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Bib
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Team
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City
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State
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Net
Time
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Pace/
Mile
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GURBISZ |
KATHLEEN |
F27 |
5484 |
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NY |
NY |
51:48 |
8:21 |
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FORTE |
STEPHEN |
M32 |
5448 |
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NEW YORK |
NY |
53:40 |
8:39 |
Friday, December 10, 2004
SQL Server 2005-PARTITION BY
The ranking functions can also combine with windowing functions. A windowing function will divide a resultset into equal partitions based on the values of your PARTITION BY statement in conjunction with the OVER clause in your ranking function. It is like applying a GROUP BY to your ranking function-you get a separate ranking for each partition. The example below uses ROW_NUMBER with PARTITION BY to count the number of orders by order date by salesperson. We do this with a PARTITION BY SalesPersonID OVER OrderDate. This can be used with any of the four ranking functions.
Select SalesOrderID, SalesPersonID, OrderDate,
Row_NUMBER() Over (Partition By SalesPersonID Order By OrderDate) as OrderRank
From Sales.SalesOrderHeader
Where SalesPersonID is not null
SalesOrderID SalesPersonID OrderDate OrderRank
------------ ------------- ----------------------- ---
43659 279 2001-07-01 00:00:00.000 1
43660 279 2001-07-01 00:00:00.000 2
43681 279 2001-07-01 00:00:00.000 3
43684 279 2001-07-01 00:00:00.000 4
43685 279 2001-07-01 00:00:00.000 5
43694 279 2001-07-01 00:00:00.000 6
43695 279 2001-07-01 00:00:00.000 7
43696 279 2001-07-01 00:00:00.000 8
43845 279 2001-08-01 00:00:00.000 9
43861 279 2001-08-01 00:00:00.000 10
. . . More
48079 287 2002-11-01 00:00:00.000 1
48064 287 2002-11-01 00:00:00.000 2
48057 287 2002-11-01 00:00:00.000 3
47998 287 2002-11-01 00:00:00.000 4
48001 287 2002-11-01 00:00:00.000 5
48014 287 2002-11-01 00:00:00.000 6
47982 287 2002-11-01 00:00:00.000 7
47992 287 2002-11-01 00:00:00.000 8
48390 287 2002-12-01 00:00:00.000 9
48308 287 2002-12-01 00:00:00.000 10
. . . More
PARTITION BY supports other SQL Server aggregate functions including MIN and MAX.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
SQL Server 2005-DENSE_RANK() and NTILE(n)
DENSE_RANK works exactly like RANK() but will remove the skipping of numbers in the tie.
Select SalesOrderID, CustomerID,
DENSE_RANK() Over (Order By CustomerID) as RunningCount
From Sales.SalesOrderHeader
Where SalesOrderID>10000
Order By CustomerID
SalesOrderID CustomerID RunningCount
------------ ----------- --------------------
43860 1 1
44501 1 1
45283 1 1
46042 1 1
46976 2 2
47997 2 2
49054 2 2
50216 2 2
51728 2 2
57044 2 2
63198 2 2
69488 2 2
44124 3 3
. . . More
NTile(n) will evenly divide all the results into approximately even pieces and assign each piece the same number in the resultset. A perfect example is the percent of 100 (like for an examination in University) or a percentile of runners in a road race.
Select SalesOrderID, CustomerID,
NTILE(10000) Over (Order By CustomerID) as RunningCount
From Sales.SalesOrderHeader
Where SalesOrderID>10000
Order By CustomerID
SalesOrderID CustomerID RunningCount
------------ ----------- --------------------
43860 1 1
44501 1 1
45283 1 1
46042 1 1
46976 2 2
47997 2 2
49054 2 2
50216 2 2
51728 2 3
57044 2 3
63198 2 3
69488 2 3
44124 3 4
. . . More
One last example will bring these all together in one SQL Statement and show the difference between all four ranking functions.
--Ranking All
use adventureworks
Select SalesOrderID as OrderID, CustomerID,
Row_Number() Over (Order By CustomerID) as RowNum,
RANK() Over (Order By CustomerID) as Rank,
DENSE_RANK() Over (Order By CustomerID) as DRank,
NTILE(10000) Over (Order By CustomerID) as NTile
From Sales.SalesOrderHeader
Where SalesOrderID>10000
Order By CustomerID
OrderID CustomerID RowNum Rank DRank NTile
----------- ----------- -------------------- -------------------- -------------------- --------------------
43860 1 1 1 1 1
44501 1 2 1 1 1
45283 1 3 1 1 1
46042 1 4 1 1 1
46976 2 5 5 2 2
47997 2 6 5 2 2
49054 2 7 5 2 2
50216 2 8 5 2 2
51728 2 9 5 2 3
57044 2 10 5 2 3
63198 2 11 5 2 3
69488 2 12 5 2 3
44124 3 13 13 3 4
44791 3 14 13 3 4
. . . More
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
National Do Not Call Registry ....for your cell phone
In a few weeks, cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing
companies and you will start to receive sales calls on cell phones.
Call this number from your cell phone 888-382-1222. It is the national Do
Not Call list. It blocks your number for 5 years. Please pass on,
Here is online form:
Guest Blogger Today-Rich Shapero (WILD ANIMUS)
WILD ANIMUS is a novel set on the West Coast of North America, from Los Angeles through Portland and Seattle up to Fairbanks, Alaska, and the wilderness beyond. The text reads like a naturalist's impressions of climbing Mt. Rainier, the Cascades, Mt. McKinley, and ultimately Alaska's remote volcano, Mt. Wrangell. The vivid descriptions of the botany and weather found at these high altitudes are a breathtaking combination of fire and ice.
WILD ANIMUS was written, in part, during author Rich Shapero's 400-mile solo trek through treacherous mountain terrain. Set in the late 1960s and early '70s, it is an acid-tinged climb through some of the most forbidding territory on the planet, and ultimately asks, "Which is more precious, a person's life or his vision?" Today he is guest writing on my blog, I hope that you will add lots of comments:
Ransom Altman, the protagonist of my novel, WILD ANIMUS, is a mountain climber who's not satisfied merely to summit peaks. He's on a quest for a level of meaning and truth accessible only in the wildest corners of the globe, and ultimately, he ascends Alaska's Mt. Wrangell with a single-minded purpose: to reunite himself with what he imagines to be "the source of love," his god, whom he calls "Animus."
Ransom's quest encourages climbers to ponder, "What it is that drives me, often at great risk, toward the summit?" And, "As I climb, am I running away from something, or towards it?" What is it that drives you toward the summit?
I've made an excerpt from WILD ANIMUS available online. It's called "Confrontation on Mt. Wrangell" and presents a scene where the climbing party must decide whether to take a dangerous route to the summit or less risky route that means they won't be able to summit the mountain on this expedition. What would you do? Here's a link to the excerpt:
A Confrontation on Mount Wrangell
http://www.patronsaintpr.com/samples/animus/animusobd.htm
Rich Shapero
SQL Server 2005 (Yukon) Ranking Functions-RANK()
RANK() works a lot like ROW_NUMBER() except that it will not break ties, you will not get a unique value for ties.
Select SalesOrderID, CustomerID,
RANK() Over (Order By CustomerID) as RunningCount
From Sales.SalesOrderHeader
Where SalesOrderID>10000
Order By CustomerID
SalesOrderID CustomerID RunningCount
------------ ----------- --------------------
43860 1 1
44501 1 1
45283 1 1
46042 1 1
46976 2 5
47997 2 5
49054 2 5
50216 2 5
51728 2 5
57044 2 5
63198 2 5
69488 2 5
44124 3 13
. . . More
Dense_Rank tomorrow...
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
SQL Server 2005 (Yukon) Ranking Functions-ROW_NUMBER()
SQL Server 2005 adds the functionality of a Ranking expression that can be added to your resultset that is based on a ranking algorithm being applied to a column that you specify. This will come in handy in .NET applications for paging and sorting in a grid as well as many other scenarios.
The most basic new ranking function is ROW_NUMBER(). ROW_NUMBER() returns a column as an expression that contains the row’s number in the result set. This is only a number used in the context of the resultset, if the result changes, the ROW_NUMBER() will change. The ROW_NUMBER() expression takes an ORDER BY statement with the column you want to use for the row count with an OVER operator as shown here:
Select SalesOrderID, CustomerID,
Row_Number() Over (Order By SalesOrderID) as RunningCount
From Sales.SalesOrderHeader
Where SalesOrderID>10000
Order By SalesOrderID
Results are shown here:
SalesOrderID CustomerID RunningCount
------------ ----------- --------------------
43659 676 1
43660 117 2
43661 442 3
43662 227 4
43663 510 5
43664 397 6
43665 146 7
43666 511 8
43667 646 9
...More
Alternatively if you have an ORDER BY clause in your result set different than your ORDER BY in your ROW_NUMBER() expression
--Row_Number using a unique value, different order by
Select SalesOrderID, CustomerID,
Row_Number() Over (Order By SalesOrderID) as RunningCount
From Sales.SalesOrderHeader
Where SalesOrderID>10000
Order By CustomerID --Different ORDER BY than in Row_NUMBER
The result is shown here:
SalesOrderID CustomerID RunningCount
------------ ----------- --------------------
43860 1 202
44501 1 843
45283 1 1625
46042 1 2384
46976 2 3318
47997 2 4339
49054 2 5396
...More
If you choose the ROW_NUMBER() function to run against a non-unique column, it will break the tie and still produce a running count so no rows will have the same number. For example, CUSTOMERID can repeat in this example and there will be several ties, SQL Server will just produce a monotonically increasing number, which means nothing other than the number in the result set as shown here:
Select SalesOrderID, CustomerID,
Row_Number() Over (Order By CustomerID) as RunningCount
From Sales.SalesOrderHeader
Where SalesOrderID>10000
Order By CustomerID
The result are shown here:
SalesOrderID CustomerID RunningCount
------------ ----------- --------------------
43860 1 1
44501 1 2
45283 1 3
46042 1 4
46976 2 5
47997 2 6
49054 2 7
50216 2 8
51728 2 9
57044 2 10
63198 2 11
69488 2 12
44124 3 13
. . . More
Tomorrow RANK()...
Monday, December 06, 2004
Throw the Bums Out
Anyone who ever used illegal steroids should be banned from the game, or Pete Rose should be allowed in. Lacking any integrity at this point Bud Selig (and Kofi Annan) must resign. He presided over this sham and lets the players union walk all over him. We don’t have this problem in the NFL because we have a strong commissioner. In Baseball if you fail a drug test you have too many chances to hide it or try again. Baseball needs to get tough. |