The Rational Guide to SQL Server 2005 Express: Beta Preview

Ok so it is not the most in depth look but at around 200 pages it was never going to be. It is a good , light taster of SQL Server Express. It took me 2 days to read and was worthwhile.

The Express Edition of SQL Server 2005 contains much of the functionality of all editions of SQL Server 2005, with a few limitations (like a maximum of 1 processor!), and some enhanced functionality for letting you redistribute single user applications using it as the data storage. Best of all, it is absolutely free. The only confusion, where to get started? This book is that place. This book is quite good for what it is, an introduction to many of the features of SQL Server 2005 with an emphasis on typical Express usage. There are 18 chapters in this fairly short book, covering everything from Administration to T-SQL to Triggers to using the ADO.net and Visual Studio 2005 with this product. If you have never used SQL Server, it is a great introduction to SQL Server, and a great jumping off point for reading Microsoft's Books Online for more information. Books Online is a fantastic resource, but it can be daunting for the newbie developer just trying to figure out how to store some data in a database. This is not to say that the book is only for people who have limited knowledge of base SQL Server features, though that is clearly where the book shines. If you are seasoned with SQL Server 2005 already, but have limited Express experience you will still get a leg up on the additional features if you are planning on doing any development with Express. You will probably see a few of the core 2005 features that you haven't yet mastered (I know I did!) As a warning, it is clearly marked a preview book, so be prepared that some material may change slightly over time. When you register your book (in my opinion a cool feature with Mann Publishing books) you get two additional chapters that will help complete the picture of how to use Express Edition in a single user mode.

SQL Server Express 2005 has changed the rules about databases. To be sure it is a more limited version than the full blown SQL Server versions but FREE is such a nice price. The real limitations of 'Express' are: supports only one CPU, supports only 1 GB of memory, supports a database of only 4 GB. To be sure, there are a few features that would be nice to have (such as notification services), but you have to consider just how much more that would be worth. At this time only preliminary releases of the software are available, and that's what this book covers. If you were thinking of using MySQL or PostGre SQL on your next project, you might want to consider this instead. This book is a fairly general overview of the Express system, how to install it, what it contains, things like that. Transact-SQL, the programming language for SQL Server is only given about eight pages. Transact SQL is a big time SQL. You'll want a big book on that alone. This book is inexpensive and gives you a good introduction to what Microsoft is doing. It'll well worth the few dollars it costs.