Neal Waterstreet

Try the statement later?

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I got an error message I’d never seen before while altering a database.

Database is in transition. Try the statement later. (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 952)

Try the statement later? What does that mean? I altered a column in a test database and immediately tried to take it offline. That is when I got the error. After searching for the message I found this. One of the solutions suggested was to search sys.dm_exec_requests for an alter process on that database. Sure enough it was suspended. I killed the SPID and the database was back online pretty quickly.

DAX: Divide By Zero Error

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Like most languages, you will probably run into the divide by zero issue at some point with DAX. I checked around and saw some different solutions people are using. The best example I found was this pattern by Kasper de Jonge.

IF([Measure 2] <> 0, [Measure 1] / [Measure 2], 0).

I also looked at the DIVIDE() function for DAX on MSDN. It has the following syntax:

DIVIDE(numerator, denominator [,alternateresult])

Much less code than before!

I ran a very informal test with 1M rows to compare the two. There doesn’t appear to be any difference in performance based on my test, however I should do it again using more data. I checked into it a little more and noticed that both appear to throw the same errors. For instance, when the numerator or denominator is text both methods result in an error.

Has anyone else come across this? There is not too much information out there about error checking in DAX.

Update – Cutting the cable cord

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It’s been almost 4 months since I cut cable service. At this point I have no regrets at all. The amount of money I save every month more than compensates for the convenience of what I had with cable. Here is an update on some of the concerns I had.

Roku or HTPC
I think it is perfect. I’ve added several channels and some are good, some not. The USB support along with Plex is big. I am also very happy that it continues to receive new channels regularly. PBS/PBS Kids was just added a few weeks ago. I hope many other channels follow in the coming months.

DVR
I was looking at some options, but I was accepted for the beta for Aereo. We are just getting it in Atlanta and it is a game changer. If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s similar to having an OTA antenna with DVR support included. Aereo has all of the OTA channels, plus a few that I will probably never watch. The big win here is with the DVR service. It has 20 hours with the base service and 40 hours with the higher level. Roku already has an Aereo channel.

Local channels
Aereo solves this too. The channels look almost as good as OTA and at least equal to what I had with cable. If my ISP goes down, I still have the antenna as a backup.

Overall
I was a little worried that I would spent the money to get everything set up and then go back. I don’t think that will happen at this point. My best estimate is that I spent 2 months in what I had payed in cable to get all the equipment. This includes the Roku, antenna, hard drives, etc… Now my only costs are the streaming fees for Netflix, Amazon Prime and now Aereo. All of this easily totals to less than $20 per month.

I think the set up that I have is simple to put together – if I can do it anyone can. Everything that I have is available out of the box, with a little configuration for Plex and the antenna. There is definitely some functionality that I don’t have that a HTPC would provide, but so far it is more than good enough.