SQL Server
SQL Server sample databases were always delivered with the product. Not so in SQL Server 2008. Microsoft decided to de-couple the dependency and have us download the samples for free from codepex.com. The Pubs sample database went way back to the Sybase days. The Northwind sample came from Microsoft Access. Pubs and Northwind were installed automatically with SQL Server 2000 so we had to drop them from non-test servers. AdventureWorks was introduced in SQL Server 2005 and served to be more substantial and realistic than its predecessors. Instead of 23 rows in the authors table, we had 121,000 rows in the contact table. Microsoft made the samples an optional install at that time. That included some interesting code samples including industrial strength SSIS packages and SSAS cubes. Still within the product. Now with SQL Server 2008, we are expected to download the samples from the codeplex.com web site. This makes sense to remove the dependency from the product. We don’t have to wait on a new product release for new versions of samples. And there are many more samples to choose from. Even for SQL Server 2008 R2 and the latest CTP. We can also provide feedback. The web site says: “Yes, even the complaints. We do try to respond to them.”. This is a good strategy all round. http://msftdbprodsamples.codeplex.com/ cheers Brian
