Microsoft ships SQL Server 2008 - SD Times On The Web

Transform your app-dev quality by involving the whole community in testing
As the saying goes, the more eyes you have on software, the shallower the bugs. That’...

Build your dev and test labs for less – a lot less – with virtualization
You don’t have the budget to equip developers and software test teams with all the har...

Software Common Hacks and Counterattacks: A Guide to Protecting Software Products against the Top 7 Piracy Threats
Software piracy continues to be a growing epidemic. This white paper examines prevalen...

By David Worthington

August 6, 2008 — Many months after its official launch event, Microsoft today has delivered SQL Server 2008 to customers. The server is the vehicle for Microsoft’s ADO.NET data entity framework and is designed to accommodate large-scale data warehousing.

SQL Server 2008, formerly known by the code name "Katmai," is immediately available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers; pricing will remain consistent with SQL Server 2005. It ships in seven varieties, each targeting a different subset of customers.

Two of those versions, SQL Server 2008 Express and SQL Server Compact editions are generally available as a free download today.

Microsoft held a triple play launch event in February for SQL Server, Visual Studio 2008 and Windows Server 2008. SQL Server is the last of those products to ship, due in part to its introduction of a new data entity framework that is rooted in the company’s shelved Windows Future Storage effort.

The server includes Microsoft’s next-generation ADO.NET Entity Data Model (EDM), a model-based concept that provides developers with an additional layer of abstraction between the database and themselves. EDM enables custom views of the database for applications; entities are independent of their underlying data store representations.

The entities can be retrieved and queried natively within any .NET language by using LINQ (Language Integrated Query). In that vein, Microsoft also keyed in on data warehousing.

The server’s data warehousing capabilities are more advanced than SQL Server 2005, with updates to SQL Server Integration Services to load and add data to a data warehouse, and the SQL Server engine’s change-capture functionality.

It can also synchronize data from devices to the central data store and has support for geospatial data.

Additionally, Microsoft has integrated SQL Server with Microsoft Office system front-end tools to provide for more reporting capabilities. The database also introduces a rules-based system that defines a common set of policies for database operations, as well as new resource governing and failover capabilities.

Related Search Term(s): SQL Server, Microsoft

Share this link: http://www.sdtimes.com/link/32675

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

SEND FEEDBACK