The arrival of SQL Server 2012 last week sparked a semblance of positivity among people who have been using version 2005 who also held off on upgrading and skipping two SQL Server 2008 releases. For a lot of folks like me though, SQL Server 2012 gave a lot of boost and now lengthens the lifespan of 2005 databases. Not that 2005 is dying, but the tool lend more than a helping hand to a lot of 2005’s inherent goodies that some might even consider sticking with the version a little bit longer. Enter SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT), formerly aliased as “Juneau“, is the newest tool Microsoft has provided for its legion of SQL Server professionals.
Developing for SQL Server 2005
Though SQL Server 2012 has a lot to offer to anyone, SQL Server 2005 is very much a formidable data platform that would not go away anytime soon. My company still supports a lot of clients running SQL Server 2005 that might not be considering an upgrade anytime soon. And as a matter of strategy, we still very much believe that we have to pick the most common denominator among our target space. So here, just in time, SSDT gets to be initiated with a new project that would at least support SQL Server 2005.
Working Right Away
The last time I use SSDT was in SQL Server 2012 CTP3 and utilized it for some presentation/demo. I downloaded it earlier today and wasted no time and have it installed smoothly. No hiccups. It gets me so excited to play around a new tool with something that won’t be laid only to be forgotten after some tinkering. This time, SSDT gets to do real work right away with a small database.
Here are some of goodies SQL Server 2005 users from would get from a production release of SQL Server Data Tools:
- Stand Alone SSDT (No SQL Server 2012, No Visual Studio 2010 needed). I was glad Microsoft had a stand-alone distro for this tool. The last time I tried it, it was blended with SQL Server 2012 CTP3. Now, you need not have SQL Server 2012 and Visual Studio 2010. I mean, you don’t need to have an installation of SQL Server 2012 and Visual Studio 2010 to use SSDT. Without the two, your SSDT off the web installer installs the necessary SQL Server 2012 and Visual Studio 2010 / SP1 components so it can run standalone. I had installed on a bare Windows 7 machine with no SQL Server nor Visual Studio components prior and it just went with no hassles.
- SSDT Supports SQL Server 2005 as Target Platform. As I have tried before, SSDT fully supports development on SQL Server 2005 (lowest version allowed). You get all the bells and whistles of SSDT even if your target deployment platform is only SQL Server 2005. SSDT tunes itself to support 2005 so you are assured that every object you have in your SSDT project is fully supported by 2005’s engine and syntax.
- TSQL Code Analysis On Build. Most common coding malpractices are easily detected. There are around 14 coding rules that can be detected for any violations. It is all up to you to weed the problems as they appear as warnings (can be set to appear as errors if you wanted to tidy up your TSQL code.
- Catches TSQL Design/Compile Time Errors. For users who were contented to use just the SQL Server Management Studio, catching SQL compile time error isn’t a routine. Often, code errors are resolved only when executed against a database. For example, this following statement “SELECT col1, col2 FROM table1 ORDER BY col1, col3”, when parse or included in a stored procedure, produces no error upon the creation of the stored procedure. With SSDT, errors an be resolved at design/compile time.
- Import SQL Server 2005 databases. This tool comes very handy as I attempt to do some cleaning up of some old 2005 databases and probably copy some old stuff for the new project I am doing. I was able to import 2005 databases into SSDT projects with the goal of running some code analysis. As expected, I was able to detect a lot of areas that arent flagged by the old platform as potential cause of problems (e.g. unresolved references, data typing inconsistencies, possible points of data loses, etc). I was also able to copy easily old structures and stored procedures and have it copied to a new SSDT project I am working on.
- Offline Development. Unless I need to get some data in and out of a database while developing my SQL Server objects, I can completely do my development without needing to connect to a development or production database.
- It is FREE! Thank you Microsoft!
My initial feedback on SSDT is that it is a very helpful and very promising tool. For the first release, there is so much goodies that can alleviate some tasks that used to be very tedious before. For the few hours of tinkering, I was able to fashion out a database with ease.
There is a lot more to discover from SSDT. So far, only a few hours of playing time was spent and I felt my productivity has been tremendously boosted.
Indeed, SQL Server 2012 is now the flagship product of Microsoft when it comes to handling data … but with SSDT’s help, SQL Server 2005 is here to stay for a bit more.
For more information about SSDT, check out the links below:
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