SQL 2005 management studio vs SQL 2008 express

[Alex Pavluck]

Hi. I am managing a SQL server that is running SQL 2005. I really
like the management studio that comes with the full version because I
can view tables and easily create relationships and queries. Is this
same level of control available with the SQL 2008 express edition? I
want to get familiar with the tools and the syntax on my laptop but I
don't want to install a full version.

Thanks!
Alex

[Erland Sommarskog]

Alex Pavluck (ap******@gmail.com) writes:

Hi. I am managing a SQL server that is running SQL 2005. I really
like the management studio that comes with the full version because I
can view tables and easily create relationships and queries. Is this
same level of control available with the SQL 2008 express edition? I
want to get familiar with the tools and the syntax on my laptop but I
don't want to install a full version.

I believe that the Table Designer and the Query Designer are both
included in the SQL 2008 Express version. On the other hand, I would
like to discourage use of both. The Query Designer only permits you
to use a limited subset of all that is possible to do with SQL, and
it may add things are flat out inapproriate as TOP 100 PERCENT.

The Table Designer may be OK to create table at first shot, although
it seems to me that it's far more complicated to work with than just
writing the statements. The big flaws with the Table Designer is when
you change an existing table. There are several grave bugs in this area.
SSMS 2008 does in fact include a protection against this: any operation
that would require the table to be rebuilt is blocked by default, and
I strongly recommend that you keep it that way.
--
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, es****@sommarskog.se

Links for SQL Server Books Online:
SQL 2008: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/cc514207.aspx
SQL 2005: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/bb895970.aspx
SQL 2000: http://www.microsoft.com/sql/prodinf...ons/books.mspx