The major databases have all become more ecosystems than mere data storage mechanisms. Oracle's vertical push is comparable to IBM's Websphere-centric world, while Microsoft has steadily built a respectable technical infrastructure for complex, web-based data-intensive applications.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is a powerful, feature-rich platform for these applications, having seen rapid adoption since its release last year. Despite this adoption rate, users have held off thus far from comprehensive migration projects, partly due to extensive investments in their current systems (if it ain't broke, don't upgrade it), and partly because of documentation & developer readiness.
The feature complexity and strong performance are spurring upgrades. In this environment, developers need a comprehensive guide to the tools and enhancements available on the new platform. The ever-reliable folks at O'Reilly have a book that provides a well-detailed guide map through the SQL Server 2005 landscape, Programming SQL Server 2005.
The book commences with a look at the utilities available, such as the new Management Studio, which provides a comprehensive interface to manage the different server objects, and the Configuration Manager, which manages the services. In addition, it references the Visual Studio .NET IDE, which provides wizards to work with the new programmatic interface for SQL Server, the embedded Common Library Runtime, or in more familiar terms, .NET integration.
Once the framework is established, subsequent chapters replete with working examples and tips explore enhancements in T-SQL, the CLR Integration, and the intrinsic XML data type, among others. SQL Server 2005 now provides native XML Web Services, making it very easy to consume RDBMS-based data through a web service in other applications.
This helps minimize the redundant code that developers inevitably end up writing in project after project. It also provides an easy mechanism for heterogeneous clients to access SQL Server data - basically a client need only support HTTP and XML to access SQL Server native XML web services, a point driven home quite clearly by the book.
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