Datasheet

frees up application developers to focus on the business task at hand, rather
than being responsible for supervising the intricacies of data management.
As more time passed, a new breed of database companies arose. With names
like Oracle, Informix, and Sybase, these vendors (and many others) developed
a particular kind of database, known as a relational database. Relational data-
bases are particularly well designed for storing information in tabular format,
which further helped software developers as they built a whole new class of
enterprise applications.
Microsoft also entered the relational database fray some years back with the
SQL Server database. Once thought of as a relatively lightweight database
vendor, Microsoft has continually refined SQL Server to the point where it
can compete for the largest and most complicated database-driven applica-
tions. Of course, all these capabilities and power have made the SQL Server
database platform somewhat intimidating and confusing for many developers
and users, especially those that are building and using simpler solutions.
To address this problem, beginning with the SQL Server 2005 product family,
Microsoft has created several different versions of SQL Server. Known as edi-
tions, each of these versions addresses a different class of database environ-
ment. Despite this segmentation, all editions are built on the same underlying
technology platform. The main difference among the editions is that the sim-
pler, less far-reaching versions don’t have all the features and storage capac-
ity that you find in their larger (and more complex) siblings. Here’s a list of all
the SQL Server 2005 editions:
Enterprise: This is the most robust edition of SQL Server 2005. It
includes a host of features that make it a good choice for a 24/7, mission-
critical database server platform. Just a few of these features include
Advanced business intelligence analytics
Robust data transformation logic
High availability capabilities
This product also has two developer-focused versions, which contain all
the Enterprise features but are licensed differently. These are SQL Server
2005 Developer Edition and SQL Server 2005 Evaluation Edition.
Standard: With much of the feature set of its big brother, this edition is
fine for the vast majority of database applications. The main difference
is that this edition is somewhat lighter in both its business intelligence
and high availability feature sets.
Workgroup: Aimed at smaller, departmental applications, this
still-powerful edition of SQL Server 2005 introduces some limitations
10
Part I: Welcome to SQL Server 2005 Express
05_599275 ch01.qxp 6/1/06 9:08 PM Page 10