Do DBA's (SQL 2008) need to know T-SQL

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Do DBA's (SQL 2008) need to know T-SQL

YankeesSQL

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August 19, 2009 at 2:30 pm

#138312

Do MS SQL DBA's (SQL 2008) need to know T-SQL to administer SQL servers?

Thanks

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GSquared SSC Guru Points: 260824 More actions · Answer 1

It sure helps.

A lot of what you'll do in administration can be done more efficiently with T-SQL scripts than it can through Management Studio's GUI. Some things need to be done through T-SQL.

If all you're doing is administration, you won't need the level of expertise in T-SQL that a database dev or performance tuning expert needs, but you'll almost certainly need to know some.

- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
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Jack Corbett SSC Guru Points: 184388 More actions · Answer 2

Yes, unequicocally, yes.

As GSquared has said, it helps you automate maintenance and monitoring tasks, and if there is a problem you need to know it to diagnose the problem.

Jack Corbett
Consultant - Straight Path Solutions
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YankeesSQL Old Hand Points: 390 More actions · Answer 3

YankeesSQL

Old Hand

Points: 390

August 20, 2009 at 7:53 am

#1042115

Thanks for your answers.

Elliott Whitlow SSC Guru Points: 102296 More actions · Answer 4

I *might* accept limited t-sql knowledge from a jr DBA, but NEVER from a Sr. Basically if the GUI can't do it, then neither can you. Also, what are you going to say when someone comes to you asking for help with a sproc? I don't know how and I don't plan to learn?

I'm with Jack on this, ABSOLUTELY, you should work towards being a Subject Matter Expert (SME), you can't know everything but you should have Insert/Update/Delete and as many of the options in each down as possible. Book learnin is ok, but you need to do it to be good at it.

CEWII

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1000539 More actions · Answer 5

Not only should they know T-SQL, but they should be "dancing with the stars" when it comes to T-SQL because guess who gets to "tune the database"? Guess who gets to troubleshoot code that no one else can figure out? Guess who's the one they're going to turn to if they have a question on design?

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.
"Change is inevitable... change for the better is not".

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)
Intro to Tally Tables and Functions

Schadenfreude-Mei SSChampion Points: 14083 More actions · Answer 6

I'm with Jack, Elliot and Jeff; you absolutely have to know this stuff. Other then what everyone has said so far, depending on the company, the DBA is generally the one they turn to with regards to spec'ing new systems and databases, planning dr and backup strategy, resource usage and capacity planning and a host of other things.

If its not something you want to look at, my advise would be to look at a new career.

On the up side, if you like that sort of thing, its quick to learn and fun, theres almost nothing that cant be done and when you start using ssis, ssas, ssrs to pull it all together you'll look back and wonder why the hell you bothered asking such a dumb question!

Adam Zacks-------------------------------------------Be Nice, Or Leave