Purchasing SQL Server

mr_federalist · June 9th, 2003, 11:57 AM

I'm trying to set up a development environment on my home machine and I'd like to get a copy of SQL Server since I use it at work. I was told that it came as a developers copy with some other software.

Does anyone have an recommendations?

Regards

kiwidude · June 9th, 2003, 12:07 PM

SQL Server Developer addition is bundled (along with various other software) with Visual Studio .Net 2003 Ent Developer or Ent Architect editions. See Microsoft website for details.

Alternatively for the completely free option you could use MSDE - from a development perspective I hear it's identical to SQL Server (just isn't scalable). Never used it personally though.

Make sure you have the right operating system on your home PC for the version of SQL Server you obtain - for instance if you were running Win 98 you could only install SQL Server 2000 Personal Edition. MSDE should run on anything.

Jeff Mason · June 9th, 2003, 01:24 PM

MSDE is indeed SQL Server 2000. It is constrained to a 2GB maximum database size and 5 simultaneous connections.

It also does not come with the graphical managment tools like Enterprise Manager and Query Analyzer.

Jeff Mason
Custom Apps, Inc.
www.custom-apps.com

mr_federalist · June 9th, 2003, 01:59 PM

That was the thing about MSDE. What do I use to build the tables or queries with the GUI tools? I assumes, or seems to, that I have developed the databasee somewhere else and ported it over to let me distribute a database with my software package.

David Cameron · June 9th, 2003, 07:24 PM

You can install the client tools from your full version and use them with MSDE.

regards
David Cameron

Jeff Mason · June 9th, 2003, 07:50 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by mr_federalist
That was the thing about MSDE. What do I use to build the tables or queries with the GUI tools? I assumes, or seems to, that I have developed the databasee somewhere else and ported it over to let me distribute a database with my software package.

Note also that MSDE does come with ISQL.EXE which is a command line tool that will execute queries. These queries can be entered on the command line or be executed from a text file. In theory, you can do everything you need to do with this tool, albeit not nearly as easily as with the GUI tools.

Jeff Mason
Custom Apps, Inc.
www.custom-apps.com

julesmel · June 11th, 2003, 09:45 AM

What I use at home is :-

1. MSDE (downloaded from Microsoft, free)
2. SQL Server evaluation editon (downloaded from Microsoft, free)

.BUT.

I only installed the Client Tools from the SQL Server download. This gives me GUI access (Enterprise Manager, Query Analyzer, etc) to MSDE without having to purchase SQL Server of get hold of any disks.

Works a treat.