The following discussion is my point of view, and although it no doubt differs from that of others, the basis of the discussion holds true. SQL Server faces competition from other data- bases, not only from other Microsoft products such as Microsoft Access and Microsoft Visual FoxPro, but also from competitors like Oracle, Sybase, DB2, and Informix, to name a few.
Microsoft Access is found on a very large number of PCs. The fact that it is packaged with some editions of Office and has been around for a number of years in different versions of Office has helped make this database ubiquitous; however, a great number of people actually do use the software. Unfortunately, it does have its limitations when it comes to scalability, speed, and flexibility, but for many small, in-house systems, these areas of concern are not an issue as such systems do not require major database functionality.
Now we come to the serious competition: Oracle and Sybase. Oracle is seen as perhaps the market leader in the database community, and has an extremely large user base. There is no denying it is a great product to work with, if somewhat more complex to install and administer than SQL Server; it fits well with large companies that require large solutions. There are many parts to Oracle, which make it a powerful tool, including scalability and performance. It also provides flexibility in that you can add on tools as you need them, making Oracle more accom- modating in that area than SQL Server. For example, SQL Server 2005 forces you to install the
.NET Framework on your server whether you use the new .NET functionality or not. However, Oracle isn’t as user friendly from a developer’s point of view in areas like its ad hoc SQL Query tool and its XML and web technology tools, as well as in how you build up a complete database solution; other drawbacks include its cost and the complexity involved in installing and running it effectively. However, you will find that it is used extensively by web search engines, although SQL Server could work just as effectively. With the new functionality in SQL Server 2005, Oracle will be under pressure to expand its existing functionality to meet this challenge. SQL Server has always been a one-purchase solution, such that (providing you buy the correct version) tools that allow you to analyze your data or to copy data from one data source such as Excel into SQL Server will all be “in the box.” With Oracle, on the other hand, for every additional feature you want, you have to purchase more options.
Then there is Sybase. Yes, it is very much like SQL Server with one major exception: it has no GUI front end. Sybase Adaptive Server Anywhere, which is mainly used for small installations, does have a front end, but the top-of-the-range Sybase does not. To purists, there is no need for one, as GUI front ends are for those who don’t know how to code in the first place—well, that’s their argument, of course, but why use 60+ keystrokes when a point, click, and drag is all that is required?
Sybase is also mainly found on Unix, although there is a Windows 2000 version around. You can get to Sybase on a Unix machine via a Windows 2000/XP machine using tools to connect to it, but you still need to use code purely to build your database solution. It is very fast and very robust, and it is only rebooted about once, maybe twice, a year. Another thing about Sybase is that it isn’t as command-and-feature rich as SQL Server. SQL Server has a more powerful programming language and functionality that is more powerful than Sybase.
Each database has its own SQL syntax, although they all will have the same basic SQL syntax, known as the ANSI-92 standard. This means that the syntax for retrieving data, and so on, is the same from one database to another. However, each database has its own special syntax to maintain it, and trying to use a feature from this SQL syntax in one database may not work, or work differently, in another.
So SQL Server seems to be the best choice in the database market place, and in many scenarios it is. It can be small enough for a handful of users, or large enough for the largest corporations. It doesn’t need to cost as much as Oracle or Sybase, but does have the ability to scale up and deal with terabytes of data without many concerns. As you will see, it is easy to install, as it comes as one complete package for most of its functionality, with a simple install to be performed for the remaining areas if required.
Now that you know the reasons behind choosing SQL Server, you need to know which versions of SQL Server are out there to purchase, what market each version is aimed at, and which version will be best for you, including which version can run on your machine.
Hardware Requirements
Now that you know a bit about SQL Server, the next big question on your list may well be “Do I have a powerful enough computer to run my chosen SQL Server edition on? Will this help me refine my decision?”
Judging by today’s standards of minimum specification hardware that can be bought, even the low-cost solutions, the answer will in most cases be “Yes” to most editions. However, you may have older hardware (things move so fast that even hardware bought a couple of months ago can quickly be deemed below minimum specification), so let’s take a look at what the minimum recommendations are, and how you can check your own computer to ensure that you have sufficient resources.
CPU
The minimum recommended CPU that SQL Server will run on is a 500 MHz processor, a compatible processor, or similar processing power. However, as with most minimums listed here, Microsoft wholly recommends a faster processor, 1 GHz in fact. The faster the processor, the better your SQL Server will perform, and from this the fewer bottlenecks that could surface. Many of today’s computers start at 2 GHz or above, and 500 MHz has not been the standard installation for a couple of years now. If you have a lower-speed processor, try to invest in upgrading it. You will find your development time reduced for it.
However, it is not processor alone that speeds up SQL Server. A large part is also down to the amount of memory that your computer has.
Memory
Now that you know you have a fast enough processor, it is time to check whether you have enough memory in the system. All the editions of SQL Server, with the exception of the Windows Express and Mobile versions, require a minimum of 512MB of RAM onboard your computer. Many of the editions that could be used will run with this, although you shouldn’t have too many more applications open and running as they could easily not leave enough memory for SQL Server to run fast enough. Microsoft recommends 1GB or above, and really double that at least for when you start using your SQL Server in earnest.
The Windows Express and the Mobile versions have a minimum of 128MB of RAM. Moving the other way, if you wanted to run the Enterprise Edition, then a minimum, and I
mean a bare minimum, of 1GB really should be installed, especially if you want to use any of the more advanced features.
The more memory the better: I really would recommend a minimum of 1GB on any computer that a developer is using, with 2GB ideal and sufficient to give good all-around performance.
If a process can be held in memory, rather than swapped out to hard drive or another area while you are running another process, then you are not waiting on SQL Server being loaded back into memory to start off where it left off. This is called swapping and the more memory, the less swapping could, and should, take place.
Taking CPU speed and memory together as a whole, it is these two items that are crucial to the speed that the computer will run, and having sufficient speed will let you develop as fast as possible.
Hard Disk Space
You will need lots! But name a major application these days that doesn’t need lots! For SQL Server alone, ignoring any data files that you are then going to add on top, you will need over
1GB of space. Certainly,the installation options that will be used later in the chapter will mean you need this amount of space. You can reduce this by opting not to install certain options, for example, Books Online; however, even most notebooks these days come with a minimum
40GB, and 80GB is not uncommon either. Hard disk space is cheap as well, and it is better to buy one disk too large for your needs than have one hard drive that suits now, and then have
|to buy another later, with all the attendant problems of moving information to clear up space on the original drive.
Again, you will need spare space on the drive for the expansion of SQL Server and the data- bases, as well as room for temporary files that you will also need in your development process. So think big—big is beautiful!
Operating System Requirements
You will find that SQL Server 2005 will run on Windows 2000 Professional Edition and above with Service Pack 4, or all editions of Windows XP Service Pack 2 or above. It will also work on the 64-bit operating systems for Windows XP, as well as the 64-bit editions of Windows Server
2003. So there is plenty of scope for running SQL Server on many operating systems.
The Example
In order to demonstrate SQL Server 2005 fully, together we will develop a system for a financial company that will have features such as banking, share purchase, and regular buying, such as a unit trust savings plan, etc. This is an application that could fit into a large organization, or with very minor modifications could be used by a single person to record banking transactions.
The book builds on this idea and develops the example, demonstrating how to take an idea and formulate it into a design with the correct architecture. It should be said, though, that the example will be the bare minimum to make it run, as I don’t want to detract from SQL Server. The book will give you the power and the knowledge to take this example, expand it to suit your financial application needs, and give it the specifics and intricacies that are required to make it fully useful for yourself.
But before we can get to this point, we need to install SQL Server.
Installation
It is now time to install SQL Server from the CD-ROM or DVD. The examples within this book can run on any edition.
This chapter will guide you through the installation process of the Developer Edition, although virtually all that you see will be in every edition. Some of the differences will be due to the functionality of each edition. This book will cover many of the options and combinations that can be completed within an installation. A number of different tools are supplied with SQL Server to be included with the installation. We will look at these tools so that a basic under- standing of what they are will allow us to decide which to install.
Installation covers a great many different areas:
• Security issues
• Different types of installation—whether this is the first installation and instance of SQL Server or a subsequent instance, for development, test, or production
• Custom installations
• Installing only some of the products available
Most of these areas will be covered so that by the end of the chapter you can feel confident and knowledgeable to complete any subsequent installations that suit your needs.
A Standard Installation
Let’s now take the time to install SQL Server 2005 on our machines. Microsoft offers a 120-day trial version at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/evaluation/trial/, which you can use to follow along with the examples in this book if you don’t already have SQL Server 2005.
This book uses the Developer Edition because it is most suited to our needs, as developers, for it doesn’t have all the operating system requirements of the Enterprise Edition. Insert the CD for the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 edition of your choice in your CD-ROM drive and start the installation. What the upcoming text covers is a standard installation.
Preparing to Install
First of all, ensure that you have logged on to your machine with administrative rights so that you are allowed to create files and folders on your machine, which is obviously required for installation to be successful.
If, when placing the CD-ROM into your computer, the installation process does not auto- matically start, open up Windows Explorer and double-click autorun.exe, found at the root level of the CD-ROM.
You are now presented with the installation screen for the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 edition of your choice, as shown in Figure 1-1. After you accept the SQL Server End User Agreement, SQL Server then installs some support files prior to set up. These files are part of SQL Server that will be included in service packs and form part of the installation process. The main files are setup files and the required .NET Framework version if it is not already installed.
