Turns out, the dlls I was trying to reference were 32-bit, and the platform my project was set to run on was 64-bit. As I was building this project on a 64-bit machine, Visual Studio set the default platform to be 64-bit.

This is a simple fix: Go to the “Project” menu, select “Properties”, then click the “Build” tab on the side. From here you just need to select x86 from the Platform combo box and rebuild your project. Sorted!

http://forums.asp.net/t/1119052.aspx

The tutorial below provides a good code base to developing this kind of functionality, as well as providing a link to a similar project on MSDN.

http://darrylagostinelli.com/2011/06/27/create-a-sql-table-from-a-datatable-in-c-net/

I came across this the other day, when I was looking at using the SQL MERGE statement to replicate the functionality of the Slowly Changing Dimension task in SSIS. There are many benefits to using MERGE instead of the SSIS task, one of my favourites being only having to run 1 SQL statement for the whole task, instead of one for each Lookup, and then subsequent UPDATE or INSERT statement.

This link however, takes it one step further by dynamically building the MERGE statements to use in your ETL. This removes the need to manually update scripts when the table schema changes, such as adding new fields, and makes it a great candidate for quick deployment of Slowly Changing Dimension tasks.

Unfortunately, you can’t use SSMS to run parameterised MDX queries like you can in SSRS, but the tutorial below gives a good example using SQL Server Profiler, capturing traces of executed queries by SSRS along with the parameter values used. From here you can just paste the MDX into SSMS, replace the parameter names with the values used and presto!

http://prologika.com/CS/blogs/blog/archive/2009/07/06/how-to-test-ssrs-mdx-queries-in-sql-server-management-studio.aspx

At work today, I was a bit stumped when SSAS reported the cube wouldn’t build, due to a duplicate key found in the source database, although having checked this there was none to be found.

However after consulting with a colleague, and finding this article on the internet, it turns out that there was a white space after the value of an attribute in the source DB. After SSAS runs the DISTINCT query on the source DB, it trims the white space, and because of that it created a duplicate key.

The post-processing of attributes can be customised in the dimension designer in SSAS. For me it was an issue with the source data, but possibly for you, it might be required to tweak the trimming and null replacement functions.

Anyway, thought this song was amazing and had to learn it, although I can’t sing quite as good as Joseph Arthur!

Guitar Tab: http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/j/joseph_arthur/honey_and_the_moon_ver4_tab.htm

Only cares we had then were A-Levels… that was 6 years ago now! How it all changes!

Anyways, I’ve linked to a video of him on YouTube and the guitar tab I used, check him out! Maybe if I ever manage to sing I’ll post my own rendition…

Guitar tab: http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/j/jack_johnson/do_you_remember_ver3_tab.htm

This Tuesday just gone, I got myself to the STA Travel and picked up brochures on everything – places, trips, volunteering… the lot!

Here’s the route I was suggested to take:
London – Bangkok – overland to Singapore – Sydney – overland to Cairns – Auckland – Los Angeles – possibly Fiji then back home.

My plan? To do everything! Skydive, bungee jump, canoeing, learn to surf, volunteer work, sightseeing, and of course a few parties here and there!

I’m looking to go anywhere between 6 months and a year, but from the looks of it could be pretty expensive for what I want to do!

So hopefully this time next year, I’ll be somewhere amazing, question is, wanna come with?

Anyway, this cover of “Time Is Running Out” is amazing, so it’s my song choice to learn for this week:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cant-Swim-Ride-Run-Triathlon/dp/1848187432

If I ever amass to become anything more than a dreamer, then I will forever be in the debt of this guy, and the amazing achievements he made turning his life around. This book is an incredible inspiration to anyone thinking about training for marathons, triathlons – all the way up to the big Iron Man. And even for those who aren’t, it’s a fun, witty read of one man’s aspiration to turn his life around and achieve greatness. READ IT!