-web-database-server OH YEAH database-web-server-

Oh yeah.
Heard about a web database server?
Or a database web server?
Take a look at mine, a mean machine search server (made for AJAX solutions).

Test bed for 32-bit version and a URI for searching for “microsoft” in Norway:
http://searchpalette.com/g/g.html
http://searchpalette.com/SPaletteGorm/0/25/microsoft

My 64-bit version searching from 10Million records getting page 25 of people called “Bil” with page size 25.
http://62.89.36.69/spalette/24/25/bil
Outputing an unbelievable 3151 bytes (scripts not included) for representing 25 persons with address and all phone numbers in a millisecond (before it gets to the router).

See it in AJAX action. Type “bil” at http://firmakatalogen.com/ and hit page 9. The 1400-1500 bytes needed to represent the hits should come more or less instantly after you let go of the mouse button. If not, it is a network latency problem.

The server, working on a XEON 64 takes up 50MB RAM for serving 5GB of raw data. I guess I could have a hundred of them on the same (single processor) machine. Integration is done with SQL Server 2005 (and has been done for about a year now in production, hope I am not breaking NDAs etc. etc. but it was the best solution, so I did it)

Well, my 64-bit webservices database server will be even more fun.

Thank you, Microsoft and Intel.

SQL cursors: This was a funny one

This was a funny one from msdn forums:

Is it possible to order the column names in alphabetical order in Sql Server?

This is a problem that in my view elightens how much you can’t do with SQL.
First thought is to use CLR.
Since I never use SQL OPEN CURSOR and FETCH the obvious took some time.

I am sure there is a more elegant solution using XML in some way, but I think XML gets overly complex at times, so I avoid using it if there are more practical solutions. Even if they don’t always look that elegant.

Here is my solution:

-- SQL to output table with columns sorted

CREATE PROCEDURE pTableWithSortedFields(@tableName nvarchar(MAX))
AS
DECLARE @sql as nvarchar(MAX)
SET @sql = 'SELECT '

DECLARE temporary_cursor CURSOR FOR
select name from sys.all_columns
where object_id = OBJECT_ID(@tableName)
order by name

DECLARE @field as nvarchar(MAX)
OPEN temporary_cursor

FETCH NEXT FROM temporary_cursor INTO @field
WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
     SET @sql = @sql + '[' + @field + ']'
     FETCH NEXT FROM temporary_cursor INTO @field
     IF @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
          SET @sql = @sql + ','
END

CLOSE temporary_cursor
DEALLOCATE temporary_cursor

SET @sql = @sql + ' FROM ' + @tableName
print @sql
EXEC (@sql)

GO

pTableWithSortedFields 'sometable'

-- SQL to output table with columns sorted

Well, answering posts (when I get the time) can be a learning experience. I am sure I will use cursors for something again soon, another tool is somewhat sharpened

Hardcore Programming (dis)cont

This is posted from Word.

Hardcore Programming cont. will have to wait. I needed to put my AJAX database webservices server on 64-bit. Seems to work. HTTP.SYS was a real drag (with the newest platform SDK), so I had to do LoadLibrary and GetProcAddress on the lot. Hopefully it will pay itself at some point in the future.

Also, the SysWOW64 puzzled me a bit

Have a nice weekend
Yours, Gorm Braarvig

Hardcore Programming cont.

1. "Hello World"
New console application,
// stdafx.h
#include
// HelloConsoleWorld.cpp
int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[]){
_tprintf(_T("Hello World")); ::MessageBox(NULL, _T("Hello MB World"), _T("MB World"), 0) ; return 0;}

dir:
debug - 40 960 HelloConsoleWorld.exe
release - 6 144 HelloConsoleWorld.exe
64bit debug - 31 232 HelloConsoleWorld.exe
64bit release - 7 168 HelloConsoleWorld.exe
64-bit versions are 1KB and 10KB larger. Fine.

Compiling to 64-bit was harder than I thought but creating two new configurations and compiling and linking all configurations I got what I wanted.
First looks at the images in a hex editor reveals that
- 64-bit version has something called _C_specific_handler, google'ing it gives me (as expected) nothing. Will I have problems getting rid of RTL?
- Both versions are compiled as UNICODE pr default. Nice.
Putting all 64-bit versions in ...\x64\... is nice, why not make a ...\x32\... too?
I am content with "Hello World" for now.


2. "DelayWithCancelMT"
New win32 app
Remove resource files, etc, all the code, replace with
#include "stdafx.h"
void APIENTRY _tMyWinMain(HINSTANCE, HINSTANCE, LPTSTR lpCmdLine, int nCmdShow)
{ ::MessageBox(NULL, _T("Hi"), _T("Hi"), 0);
UNREFERENCED_PARAMETER(lpCmdLine);
UNREFERENCED_PARAMETER(nCmdShow);}

How can I get this to be bellow 1KB exe?
There are many new things turned on in VS 2005 (that I don't know how to turn off).
I will continue tomorrow.

Hardcore programming
Okay, Windows 2003 SP1/64.
I am coming to get you.

1. "Hello 64 bit World." console
Should be a no-brainer

2. "Delay with cancel" multi-threaded
Without RTL of any kind.
Hope this is possible with the new compiler/linker
Destination release exe should be bellow 2KB
What kind of structure and segment alignments can I have?
What does it look like in the hex-editor?
If I get dependends.exe to run, will be interesting to see what dlls are needed to run a windows program

3. "malloc the hell out of the machine"
Application that uses more than 2GB continuos RAM.
Long lived dream of mine.

OK. time to start.
G.