Getting the most out of SQL Server 2008
April 1, 2009 —
(Page 1 of 4)
SQL Server 2008 has been credited for its markedly better scalability and performance, but it also has an assortment of capabilities that fundamentally change how enterprise developers interact with the database.
Microsoft made several changes to SQL Server from version 2005, ranging from the introduction of new developer tools to fulfilling long-sought developer requests in coding, tools, management and performance monitoring.
Among the added capabilities is a new merge operator in Visual Studio 2008, a “great concept” that has been needed for years, said Chris Menegay, a principal consultant for Notion Solutions and a Microsoft regional director (recognized by Microsoft’s Developer Platform evangelism group for technical expertise).
Merge can join a data source with a target table or view, then perform multiple actions (insert, update, delete) against the target based on the results of that join, according to Microsoft TechNet.
"The merge command can do in one line of code what would have taken 10 before," when they would have had to write multiple CASE statements, said Tim Huckaby, CEO of InterKnowlogy, a .NET solutions provider. "From a plumbing perspective, merge changes how to do all of our updates."
Menegay said that programming managers should be certain that merge is supported in their code generation tools and unit tests before they adopt it. "It is a core change to how people interact with the database, and managers should stop people from doing it until everyone on the team does it."
Huckaby was less cautionary, stating that while merge makes programming easier, developers will not go back and refactor or remove old code that works just because Microsoft released a new feature. "In my opinion, it would be used for new applications," he said.
He added that merge would be particularly useful for business intelligence and data warehouses for pulling data from a transaction database for storage.
Another one of the most welcomed changes is the inclusion of a data type for storing dates, said Menegay. "[SQL Server] 2005 made doing internationalization more difficult. You used to have to parse out everything that you did," he said.
Related Search Term(s): Microsoft, SQL Server
Share this link: http://sdt.bz/33370
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources
Taking enterprise architecture to the business side
Startup Corso is bringing out a cloud-based planning platform that ties into business plans
|
|
Zeichick’s Take: Radio moves from analog waveforms to digital packets
Streaming radio highlights the need for streaming applications to be designed to take up as little bandwidth as possible
|
|
Appcelerator Acquires Cocoafish to Add Instant Mobile Cloud Capabilities to its Industry Leading Titanium Platform
Appcelerator Offers Messaging, Social, Location and Storage Mobile Cloud Services to All Mobile App Publishers
|
|
ComponentOne Releases a Collection of 40+ UI Widgets Powered by HTML5 and jQuery
ComponentOne has announced the 2012 release of Wijmo: a kit of UI widgets for HTML5 and jQuery development
|
Taking enterprise architecture to the business side
Startup Corso is bringing out a cloud-based planning platform that ties into business plans
|
|
Top five apps to manage your workload
Web applications offer new ways to track your “to-do” lists
|
|
Not so fast when it comes to testing in the cloud
Developers face outsourcing, virtual lab management and mobile devices as obstacles
|
|
Xceed releases UX-focused suite for Microsoft’s WPF
"Blendables" helps match user experiences to developer visions
|
Are you at risk for burnout?
Burnout is a severe problem and it can strike at any time. Here's how to tell if you are nearing the edge.
|
|
Agility, mom, and apple pie
If we're to evaluate the state-of-the-art in software development, we should start with the values espoused in the Agile Manifesto.
|
|
RIM woos developers with free tablet
How do you get more apps ported to the BlackBerry PlayBook? By giving every developer a free tablet, of course!
|
|
GitHire: Use Headhunters to Find Your Perfect Programmer
Are you a hiring manager tired of scouring the job boards? Check out this new service that will find 5 people interested in your jobs.
|
The Hidden Costs of Software Licensing
Moving beyond paper-based software licensing to more flexible, software-based licensing is a business decision. There is a growing trend tow...
|
|
Case Study: You May Need a Development Mechanic
As a contractor for a major financial player in Germany, SOBEGE, a German-based consultancy specializing in embedded IT and web services, wa...
|
|
Ensuring Software Quality at a Major International Bank
One of the world’s leading international banks has adopted AgitarOne technology for delivering generated unit tests for their Java software...
|
|
Load Testing Adobe Flex Applications
Adobe Flex applications may be different from applications you’ve worked with before. For classic HTML web applications, the server does all...
|
Related Articles
Microsoft readies small business and mid-market server offerings
Microsoft's Essentials series of Windows Server products will become available in November, bringing with it a price increase for Small Business Server, as well as a new mid-market product.
|
Why program Microsoft SQL Server from .NET?
Microsoft's José Blankley gives three situations in which programming the database from .NET is a sound option. He says that .NET is good for building core database constructs, for instance.
|
Microsoft ships SQL Server 2008
Nearly six months after its gala launch event, SQL Server 2008 is now in the hands of customers. Its arrival formalizes the ADO.NET data entity framework and the server also includes new facilitates for data warehousing.
|