Next week at the PASS Summit I’ll be presenting a session called Statistics for the New Data Pro.
You can read the abstract at the link. I just want to emphasize that this is a beginner level session. I think way too many people who are just starting out with SQL Server don’t understand the role that statistics play in determining how your queries are going to behave. What’s more, too many people don’t know how to get and read statistics to understand how it is that the optimizer thinks you have X number of rows in your database that match a given value. I’m going to make darned sure that the people who attend this session come out with a full understanding of how to read the statistics. This includes the good information available in the header, how the density graph is used, and a complete understanding of the monstrosity that is the histogram (it’s not that bad).
We’re also going to talk about statistics maintenance. You need to know how stats get updated because they absolutely impact how your queries are going to behave. There are a couple of ways that statistics are automatically maintained and I really want to be sure that you know what those are. We’ll also talk about manual maintenance, which must be done.
Overall, this is meant as a session for those who have stumbled into a position at work that requires them to be a Data Professional. You can call it accidental DBA, or reluctant database programmer, or just the poor individual who was left standing when everyone else stepped backwards one pace. If you already feel you have a firm grasp of statistics, awesome. You might not want to attend this session. It’s Summit. There are others during the same time slot. But, I have a request. Could you please direct your junior DBA to this? If you know someone who’s just getting started writing T-SQL code, maintaining a server, developing applications and reports, I think this session would do them good, so please send them on over.
Also, on the topic of statistics, I’d like to suggest that you go to Erin Stellato’s session, Statistics and Query Plans. That’s going to add a bunch of information in addition to what I’m covering. Plus, she’s a great speaker. It takes place the day before my session, but that’s OK. We’re covering different information. They’re very complementary sessions.