New Year's Resolution: Update Your Bookmarks!

Just a quick reminder that My Life with BusinessObjects has moved to its new location at http://www.dallasmarks.org/blog/. I'm no longer adding new posts to this Blogger site and am slowly retiring the posts here, which have been migrated to the new site.

Getting ORGanized

I wanted to let everyone know that I'm moving my BusinessObjects blog from Google Blogger to my own domain. Since DallasMarks.com and DallasMarks.net are owned by domain squatters, I am setting up shop at DallasMarks.org. My blog is located at DallasMarks.org/blog.

I've just finished presentation drafts for the upcoming SAP BusinessObjects User Conference in October, 2009. And there's lots of stuff that I'd like to share over the next few months.

I'll keep this blog up for a while, but I've turned off comments and won't be making any additional updates here. Please update your bookmarks and thanks for reading!

Book Review: SQL in a Nutshell

I have a soft spot in my heart for O'Reilly Media. I was first introduced to O'Reilly, aka "the animal books" many years ago in college. I believe my first O'Reilly book was Unix in a Nutshell. It still occupies a space on my bookshelf. Next to it is Learning the Korn Shell. Later, O'Reilly moved beyond it's traditional Unix and C into Oracle books. I really appreciated Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide, when using SQL*Plus as a reporting tool (way back in 1995). Recently, I grabbed a copy of SQL in a Nutshell, Third Edition for my iPhone from the iTunes App Store.

Many of my technical books are reference books, meaning that you typically flip to the part you need at the moment as opposed to reading from cover to cover. O'Reilly's SQL in a Nutshell certainly fits into this category, so I was curious to see how it would work on an iPhone.

Of course, the book is "SQL in a Nutshell", not "mySQL in a Nutshell", "Oracle in a Nutshell", etc. So the book covers ANSI SQL2003 syntax (also known as SQL3), MySQL version 5.1, Oracle Database 11g, PostgreSQL version 8.2.1 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008. One of the changes since the second edition is a "reduced footprint", which means that Sybase Adaptive Server and IBM DB2 UDB have been dumped from the discussion. I'm not surprised about Sybase (although SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise still supports it as a platform for its system and audit databases). But I was a bit puzzled why IBM DB2 was omitted, although I'm sure O'Reilly knows who their audience is.

The book is organized by topic according to the SQL3 standard as opposed to each database vendor having their own slightly redundant section. Although some might consider the first couple of chapters fluff or filler, I found them interesting, especially since my education was electrical engineering rather than computer science. Chapter one is entitled SQL History and Implementations and covers some academic database terminology, including Codd's Twelve Principles of Relational Databases. Chapter two is entitled Foundational Concepts and reviews SQL2003 basics and sets the stage for Chapter three, which is the raison d'etre for the book: the SQL Statement Command Reference.

The book concludes with Chapter four, SQL Functions. I am frequently burned by moving amongst different database platforms. Because the book is organized by function rather than vendor, it's a helpful presentation to understand which functions are common across platforms (although most have options and variations). Chapter four also includes, by vendor, all of the nonstandard functions. I began working with Oracle 7 in 1993 and assumed that everything I was learning was "standard SQL" - until I was on a SQL Server 6.5 project and wondered what happened to Oracle favorites like DECODE and NVL. Fortunately, most databases (including Oracle) now include a more unified CASE statement to use instead of DECODE. And COALESCE is a more flexible version of NVL, although I was surprised to see it is not part of the SQL standard, despite support from multiple vendors.

Having a handy reference on my iPhone means that there's less stuff to carry (or miss) on traveling consulting engagements. Although SQL in a Nutshell is a book that I'd also like to have in my bookshelf, too. SQL in a Nutshell is available in the iTunes App Store or from traditional booksellers like Amazon.com.

Book Review: Xcelsius 2008 Dashboard Best Practices by Loren Abdulezer

Xcelsius 2008 Dashboard Best Practices Loren Abdulezer Copyright © 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.

I've spent a lot of time in 2008 and 2009 creating Xcelsius dashboards for various clients. A book that I have found very helpful is Loren Abdulezer's Xcelsius 2008 Dashboard Best Practices. According to the bio on the back of the book, Loren is editor-in-chief of Xcelsius Journal, the online magazine for Xcelsius users.

Loren's book provides a comprehensive view on Xcelsius 2008 functionality including samples, which can be downloaded here from the Xcelsius Journal web site. The book contains 16 chapters organized into three sections: Xcelsius 2008 Fundamentals, Xcelsius 2008 Best Practices and Techniques, and Advanced Features. As an IT professional who didn't use Excel much before Xcelsius, I really appreciate how Loren brings his extensive knowledge of Excel to the material. This includes treatment of statistics, financial analysis and "less-than-optimal" (uh, dirty?) data.

In the "Advanced Features" section, Chapter 15 deals with XML and Data Connectivity. I would have preferred a more robust treatment of Query as a Web Service (QaaWS) and Live Office. But "rather than attempt a cursory across-the-board discussion, this chapter outlines from a hands-on perspective pragmatic issues and techniques for accessing XML data, particularly Excel XML maps". Of course, treatment of QaaWS and Live Office would have required a big investment in sample universes, reports, BIAR files, etc.

The last chapter, Chapter 16, is about "Creating Custom Components for Fun and Profit" using the Xcelsius Component SDK. Many Business Objects professionals don't code applications, but the chapter helps Xcelsius developers stick their toe into the water with Adobe Flex Builder and ActionScript/Flash/SWF development.

The bottom line? If you're an Xcelsius 2008 user, this book belongs on your shelf.

Book Review: Information Dashboard Design by Stephen Few

Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data
Stephen Few
Copyright © 2006 O'Reilly Media


You can, as the adage goes, judge a book by its cover. Take, for example, the spartan cover of Stephen Few's Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data. Designed by the author himself, it sets the tone for a book dedicated not to a specific tool or performance management methodology, but instead improving how dashboards can most effectively present information.



Dashboards are currently the "in" thing to have. You're simply uncool if your organization doesn't have one. But let's face it. Dashboards are often designed and built by IT geeks (of which I am one). And like the wagon wheel coffee table in When Harry Met Sally, many of our dashboard designs should be hauled out to the curb.

"Above all else, this is a book about communication", writes the author. And Stephen Few delivers, taking the reader on a journey through an unlucky "thirteen common mistakes in dashboard design" (see Chapter 3). Based on research on how humans process visual information (see Chapter 4: Tapping Into the Power of Visual Perception), he lays down principles that shun the "bling" features that look cool in software vendor demos but fall short in actual use. Who knew that sometimes the best way to present numbers is in a, sigh, table instead of a bunch of space hogging speedometers (see Chapter 6: Effective Dashboard Display Media).

In my role of consultant, I am frequently handed a cocktail napkin (less frequently a requirements document) that already lays out the design. So my job is more about following directions, not offering constructive guidance. However, this book has strongly influenced how I approach my work. Though not specifically about Xcelsius (although it is mentioned), I recommend this book to all of my Xcelsius 2008 students. I believe its insights will change how you too can improve your dashboards by striving for the effective visual communication of data.

Stephen Few's web site is Perceptual Edge. His book can be purchased at Amazon.com and other on-line retailers.