Blog

Installing SqlPackage on macOS Using the dotnet CLI Tool

• data, mac

• sqlpackage, dotnet, macos, homebrew

• 2024-11-15
• 1 minute to read

Installing SqlPackage on macOS has historically been tricky, but using the dotnet SDK alongside Homebrew makes the process much simpler. Here is how to get it done quickly.

My activities tracker for community contributions in 2024

• community

• tracker, stem, dataweekender, data toboggan, mentoring, sqlbits, code club

• 2024-10-31
• 3 minutes to read

A list of events and activities I have contributed to STEM and the community during 2024, including conferences, blogging, speaking, and data community activities.

Taking over the running of a Code Club in Cardiff via STEM

• community

• stem, code club

• 2024-10-07
• 3 minutes to read

Learn how I became a STEM Ambassador and took over the running of a Cardiff Code Club, teaching Python and web development to a group of young women in an after-school club.

Decrypt encrypted PDFs Using macOS Automator Quick Actions

• mac

• automator

• 2024-08-23
• 5 minutes to read

How to set up an Automator Quick Action on macOS that decrypts multiple password-protected PDF files at once directly from the Finder right-click context menu.

Stem Ambassador Award 2024 for 100 hours of volunteering

• stem

• badge, stem

• 2024-08-08
• 2 minutes to read

I have received a STEM Ambassador award for contributing 100 hours of volunteering to the STEM Ambassador program.

Retrieving Microsoft Fabric Tenant Settings via PowerShell

• data

• admin, fabric, powershell

• 2024-08-02
• 4 minutes to read

How to use standard Azure PowerShell cmdlets to retrieve all Microsoft Fabric tenant settings, useful for auditing and evaluating the configuration of your Fabric environment.

View the Build Agent File System in an Azure DevOps Pipeline

• version control

• devops

• 2024-07-16
• 4 minutes to read

How to view the contents of the build agent file system during an Azure DevOps pipeline run, making it easier to pick the correct predefined variable for your scripts.

Multiline Scripts in Azure DevOps Pipelines

• version control

• azure devops

• 2024-07-13
• 4 minutes to read

Using script tasks in Azure DevOps pipeline and how to control multi-line scripting in Azure DevOps pipelines.

I Am Proud to Be a Redgate Community Ambassador for 2024

• community

• forg, redgate, friend of redgate, badge

• 2024-06-19
• 3 minutes to read

I am pleased to announce that I have been welcomed into the Redgate Community Ambassador programme for 2024 and am looking forward to another year supporting the community.

Installing Apache Spark on macOS Quickly Using Homebrew

• data, mac

• spark, homebrew

• 2024-06-05
• 3 minutes to read

Installing Apache Spark on macOS using Homebrew is quick and easy, allowing you to start loading and processing data within just a few minutes of beginning the installation.

Floating windows in vscode for editor and terminal

• coding

• visual studio code

• 2024-05-23
• 2 minutes to read

How to use the floating windows feature in VSCode to detach editor tabs and terminal panels into separate windows, making the most of multi-monitor setups.

Add Review Checklists to PRs Using Pull Request Templates

• version control

• pull request, github, azure devops

• 2024-05-22
• 5 minutes to read

One useful tool to standardise your peer review process is to create a pull request template. This is really easy to achieve in both Azure DevOps and Github.

How to Fix Hugo Live Reload Constantly Reloading the Browser

• hugo

• live reload

• 2024-05-18
• 3 minutes to read

How to diagnose and fix the issue where Hugo's live reload feature reloads the browser page constantly and unexpectedly, making local development difficult.

Creating Mermaid diagrams in markdown using vscode

• coding, hugo

• visual studio code, mermaid, markdown

• 2024-05-17
• 5 minutes to read

My blog theme supports Mermaid, a text-based diagramming language. This post covers my first steps creating and previewing Mermaid diagrams directly inside VSCode.

T-SQL Tuesday #174 My favourite job interview question

• community

• tsql2sday

• 2024-05-14
• 4 minutes to read

My 12th T-SQL Tuesday contribution, hosted by Kevin Feasel. The topic this month was my favourite job interview question and what it reveals about candidates.

Using Brewfile to Share Homebrew Configs across machines

• coding, version control

• dotfiles, homebrew, brewfile

• 2024-05-14
• 4 minutes to read

I have found Brewfile to be a very useful tool for producing a dotfile that allows me to share my Homebrew package configuration consistently between machines.

Connecting to a Postgres database with Azure Data Studio

• data

• postgres, azure data studio, docker

• 2024-05-09
• 2 minutes to read

How to connect to a PostgreSQL database using Azure Data Studio by installing and configuring the Postgres extension, useful when running Postgres locally in Docker.

Creating a Postgres docker container and connecting dbt

• data

• dbt, postgres

• 2024-05-09
• 5 minutes to read

This post covers how to create a Postgres database in a Docker container and connect dbt to it, providing a local development environment for data transformation workflows.

Steps required to set up the dbt SQL Server Adapter

• data

• dbt, sql server

• 2024-05-09
• 6 minutes to read

This post explains how to get started with dbt and the SQL Server adapter. Also covers resolving some of the issues encountered on macOS.

Running SQL Server natively on macOS using SQLCMD CLI

• data, mac

• sql server, sqlcmd, docker

• 2024-05-08
• 7 minutes to read

How to run SQL Server on macOS using the SQLCMD CLI tool, covering installation, configuration, and connecting to a local or remote SQL Server instance.