News and Views of a Technical Nomad

Sep

24

For those of you that don’t follow SQL Server versions, SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition is the successor to SQL Server Mobile Edition. The latest version is SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition 3.1; however you can also download version 3.5 Beta 2 from the same Microsoft site, which can be found here.

The major difference between the Compact Edition and its predecessor is that the Compact Edition is not restricted to running on a PocketPC device, it can run on a standard windows machine such as a laptop or a desktop.

This means that it can be used as an embedded database in a whole variety of applications running on a wide range of physical machines.

Unlike SQL Server 2005 Express, this version however does not support many SQL Server programming types such as functions and stored procedures. This means that to access data, you have to use the appropriate .NET Class Namespace System.Data.SqlServerCe in your .NET code.

Compact Edition uses Merge replication or RDA to synch up with SQL Server on the server. You can create and modify Tables and Views using SQL Server Management Studio or the Express equivalent.

I was considering trying the Compact Edition out on my desktop to see whether it could act as a replacement to my local database that I use on my laptop, but the lack of stored procedures and functions would require a whole new set of Data Classes that did not call stored procedures, so I will hold off for a while I think.

I am very interested in the idea of disconnected databases in small handheld devices; I used to use a Qtek 2020 and was on the whole very impressed with it (apart from the fact that it could easily run out of memory and freeze thus requiring a hard reboot). The latest versions of these devices are certainly capable of running a copy of SQL Server 2005 Compact and the fact that you can use the same file on both a desktop and a handheld is certainly very attractive. 

MySQL on the other hand, to the best of my knowledge, does not currently offer a version that can run on PocketPC devices. If they could come up with a version for the Pocket PC, that would certainly make their product a lot more attractive to me.

Sep

3

ChannelWeb Network have an article on the upcoming release of Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 which is due to be unveiled on 19th September which marks another entry into the competitive Business Inteligence (BI) marketplace dominated by Cognos and Business Objects.

PerformancePoint Server will incorporate Microsoft’s current Business Scorecard Manager product and technology Microsoft picked up last year in its acquisition of ProClarity.

Microsoft, which builds reporting and analysis tools into SQL Server, has been grabbling a bigger piece of the business intelligence software market in recent years. The vendor’s business intelligence software sales surged more than 28 percent last year to reach $480 million, according to market researcher IDC. That was enough to give it fourth place in the BI market behind Business Objects, SAS and Cognos.

I had to quote that last paragraph from the article in full, because I was surprised that Microsoft was doing so well in the BI market!

More information on PerformancePoint Server can be found here and more information on Microsoft’s BI offerings can be found here (lots of glossy pictures of marketing folk!)

Sep

3

Oracle News have a good article on the increasing proliferation of SQL Server installations in Oracle sites and the factors that are driving the adoption of SQL Server by Oracle users.

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