Learn more about Data Profiling in SQL 2008: A compilation

Microsoft Research contributed the Data Profiling Task and Data Profile Viewer to Integration Services in SQL Server 2008. Best of all, this feature is available in all editions of SQL Server that include SSIS, and not just in Enterprise. Learn more about this new task from the following resources.

By their nature, SSIS package developers see the XML output from the Data Profiling task, and immediately want to process it in an SSIS package! I've marked the 3 relevant resources below with an asterisk (*). Each one demonstrates a different approach.

Microsoft resources

• In SQL Server Books Online (BOL)
  • Data Profiling Task
  • Profiling Data with the Data Profiling Task and Viewer and the 3 child topics in this section:
    • Setting Up the Data Profiling Task
    • Viewing Profile Output in the Data Profile Viewer
    • * Using the Data Profiling Task in Package Workflow
• Video (10 minutes): How to: Use the Data Profiling Task
• Blog postings from the SSIS Team Blog by developer Matt Masson
  • Data profiling task improvements
  • * Accessing a data profile programmatically
• Blog posting from this blog: Add logging to the Data Profiling Task

Community resources

These are only intended to be some highlights that I was able to find easily...

• Blog postings from SQL Server MVPs and other experts
  • Stacia Misner on SQLSkills.com: SQL Server 2008: Data Profiling Task - the Quick Version
  • MVP Jamie Thomson from Conchango: the 10-part series that many other bloggers have linked to
    • SSIS: Data Profiling Task: Part 1 - Introduction
    • SSIS: Data Profiling Task: Part 2 - Column Length Distribution
    • SSIS: Data Profiling Task: Part 3 - Column Null Ratio
    • SSIS: Data Profiling Task: Part 4 - Column Pattern
    • SSIS: Data Profiling Task: Part 5 - Column Statistics
    • SSIS: Data Profiling Task: Part 6 - Column Value Distribution
    • SSIS: Data Profiling Task: Part 7 - Functional Dependency
    • SSIS: Data Profiling Task: Part 8 - Candidate Key
    • SSIS: Data Profiling Task: Part 9 - Value Inclusion
    • * SSIS: Data Profiling Task: Part 10 - Parsing the output
  • MVP John Welch from Mariner: Using the Data Profiling Task To Profile All the Tables in a Database
• Video (10 minutes): Did you know? SQL Server 2008 includes Data Profiling Task by Dan English from Magenic