SQL Server: linked server

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When working in a MS SQL Server environment, it is sometimes really useful to connect to another DBs. Those databases can be on the same machine or on the net, it doesn't matter. We can connect to those data sources using linked servers in MS SQL server.
In this article we will see how to do it.

SQL Server: How to deal with Acucobol date fields

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As explained in a previous post, you can connect your Sql Server to an Acucobol db using AcuODBC. In the last part of the article I explained that there are performance issues when you query a linked server with OpenQuery and that it is better to import relevant data from the linked server to a Sql Server table in order to benefit from all the features available through stored procedures, triggers and so on.
I run some queries overnight  using SQL Scheduler to keep my local tables updated against the Acucobol tables, but, when importing the data, in some way I manipulate them to make them easier to query. What I found important in terms of performance, is to convert date fields from int to smalldatetime format. Furthermore, when importing data I insert into the newly created Sql Server table an identity field and set it as primary key.
Let's break down the query and I will explain it bit by bit.

SQL Server: connect to an Acucobol database with AcuODBC

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In a SQL Server environment you can connect to external databases using ODBC. You can actually connect to any external database, but I will explain how to use AcuODBC to link an Acucobol database.