One of the new outstanding features of SQL Server is Data Transformation Services (DTS). DTS can be used by both developers and database administrators (DBAs) and is attracting a lot of interest. There is a demand for information and currently no other books are available to satisfy this. DTS enables data to be moved between a wide variety of sources and destinations, as well as transforming the data along the way to suit your requirements. DTS can be used to maximum effect in data-driven applications, enabling dynamic data transfer across internet and intranet applications. This offers rapid and effective solutions to common problems such as:
Automatically transferring data into data warehouses Importing and exporting data to and from other applications for analysis and reporting Moving working copies of databases between servers
The capabilities of DTS are large and this book will give the reader a complete picture of how to use DTS to its fullest potential.
A lot of corporate databases are what's behind the Internet revolution.
Professional SQL Server 2000 DTS gives DBAs and programmers a handy guide to getting the most out of the Data Transformation Services (DTS)--a flexible set of tools that work on a wide variety of databases--that are available in SQL Server 2000.
The hands-on focus of the book makes it a win for readers of all backgrounds. While online help for DTS is not always easy to decipher, this book remedies the situation with plenty of screen shots of all the major tools in action. Early sections examine nearly two-dozen built-in tasks or functions in DTS--from the obvious (like copying data from one database to another) to the more esoteric (like sending files via FTP within DTS).
A gentle introduction to using VBScript and ActiveX objects gets at the DTS object model to design "custom tasks". Using this approach, you can automate and transform data reliably among different formats, including mainframe and Office documents. (Specific tips guide you in working with DB2 and Excel data.) A standout section looks at "linking" servers and querying data from heterogeneous sources.
You also learn how to build a Web front end (using ASPs) for a data application that uses SQL-DMO APIs to automate database tasks through a browser. Later, there's an excellent tutorial on data warehousing done the Microsoft way, from the basics of the star, snowflake and hybrid fact tables for a data mart, to setting up and loading the data using DTS and then running the database with Microsoft Analysis Services. The book closes with a thorough reference section that lists the objects and methods in the DTS object model.
Whether you are performing normal database administration or setting up a data warehouse--or you just want to work with data more effectively within your applications--Professional SQL Server 2000 DTS gives you all the information you need to be productive with a powerful (and sometimes overlooked) set of database tools and components. --Richard Dragan
