2. A mashup, by definition, is a web application
that combines data and or functionality from
more than one source.
Basically, a mashup consists of a central
repository where various RSS feeds or other
information is aggregated into one rolling
stream of data.
3. After testing several different mashup tools, I
decided to use the Yahoo Pipes tool as my
“weapon of choice” for creating my mashup.
Yahoo Pipes has been around longer than
most other tools and was therefore more
stable and user friendly.
Did research on a product by Intel called
mashmaker, however this tool left little to be
desired. It was clunky and not very user
friendly at all.
4. Decided to create a mashup tailored for my
profession as a SQL Server database
administrator.
Recognized how beneficial of a resource this
could be not only for me but also for my
fellow colleagues at work or anyone in the
field.
This mashup could also teach the other SQL
DBA’s about Web 2.0 technologies that they
may not have otherwise been aware of.
5. Now that my focus was narrowed I needed to
decide of even more specific data and feeds
to add to the mashup
http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=
5LZ7UOL_3RGfY_NtdfQQIA
Started by making a list of all of the different
resources that I use frequently at work in
order to assist me as a SQL Server database
administrator.
6. Error messages are very important to us as
DBA’s because they inform us when
something is not right with the databases or
servers.
Wanted to figure out a way to incorporate SQL
Server error messages into my mashup.
We currently receive emails with the error
alerts.
Needed to figure out how to convert these to
feeds for my mashup.
7. After researching several different Web 2.0
mail tools I decided to use MailBucket.
http://mailbucket.org/dumwalke.xml
Setup a personal mailbox using this service
and then capture the RSS feed of the mailbox.
Incorporated the feed into my mashup.
8. Wanted to incorporate a calendar into my
mashup that would display which DBA is on-
call for the week.
Discovered that I could use Google Calendar
to accomplish this task.
Setup a “DBA On-Call Calendar” within Google
Calendar and populated it with the dates and
the name of the DBA on-call.
Was able to take the feed from the calendar
and fetch it into my mashup.
9. Wanted to create a means to communicate
among members of the SQL DBA team.
Created a Twitter account called
“AdesaSQLDBAs”.
Added this account to a group using Group
Tweet.
Added the feed to the mashup.
10. DBA’s use documentation for database
design, installation, disaster recovery and for
particular tasks that are not done on a regular
basis.
Wanted to somehow incorporate
documentation into mashup.
After researching several products I decided
to use ZoHo Writer which is a Web 2.0 online
documentation tool.
http://www.zoho.com/
11. Was able to take feed from ZoHo Writer and
incorporate it into my mashup.
This ensures that any time a document is
uploaded or modified with ZoHo the feed for
the document will be pushed to my mashup.
12. This is Yahoo’s version of the SQL language
which is very similar in nature.
Allows you to filter a feed’s output using the
YQL language.
Filtered feed from SQLTeam.com using YQL.
Filtered on string “2008” which will return
information related to SQL Server 2008
version.
Filtered feed from SQLBlog.com on “SP1” for
Service Pack One information.
13. Added a coupled other useful feeds that we
often search for tips and information.
MSSQLTIPS.com
MSDN
14. Web 2.0 technologies helped me to
accomplish all of the tasks that I needed to
create a useful mashup for SQL Server DBA’s.
This mashup and presentation will also be
used to introduce SQL Server DBA’s or other
IT professionals to several different new
possibilities with Web 2.0.