Central Design Themes

Back when Microsoft delivered SQL Server 7.0, it became very apparent that SQL Server 6.5 and earlier would become legacy products, essentially pre-Internet Age applications. A trio of tenets became the central theme in SQL Server 7.0: The product had to be Internet enabled, be highly scalable (to compete with the midrange and mainframe systems), and deliver the fastest time-to-market. In its quest to be the best, Microsoft’s SQL Server development team has become obsessed with these themes.

But the release of SQL Server 2000 has also revealed a component model that allows SQL Server to scale down and compete in the small systems and desktop arena, even the tiny Pocket PC running the Windows CE operating system. This capability had taken many people by surprise, but, as mentioned earlier, databases are not the domain of the large enterprise alone. Today, with SQL Server 2005, no one is really surprised with its powerhouse of features and functionality. Today, business demands everything. If SQL Server 2005 did not dish up the goods, it would simply not survive in the digital market place. SQL Server 2005 thus

• Is fully Internet-enabled

• Provides the fastest time-to-market

• Is the most highly scalable

• Is the most portable

So you can see that no matter your needs, SQL Server 2005 can meet them. In the past, you might have gone with a small relational database product because SQL Server was a “big-business” product that came with a big price tag. But it comes in a variety of editions to meet the needs and budget of small business. If you need a small database to underpin your killer application, then even the free Express Edition leads the way. This is why I call SQL Server 2005 the DBMS for everyone (later you will see why it lives up to the title “DBMS for everything”).