Andy Leonard : Database Edition, Visual Studio 2008

Database Edition and You - Some Cool Changes

andyleonard — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:15:00 GMT

Greg Low mentioned the new licensing model for Database Edition is his post on the topic a few days ago. What does this mean for you?

Here's my take: Now that Database Edition is included (free as in beer) with Developer Edition, application developers can take advantage of some of the awesome features built into Database Edition. What are some of those awesome features? I'm glad you asked.

Unit and Database Tests - you can create database tests (and custom test conditions). Stored Procedure unit tests can be created by right-clicking the procedure and selecting "Create Unit Test".
Data Generation - you can populate a test database with gibberish. This is a great test for your database as users will likely store lots of gibberish in your database once the application goes live. Did I type that out loud? Bad me. Seriously, using live data for development and test purposes is at best a bad idea; at worst against the law. Data Generation incorporates foreign key relationships into the matrix, so related data and relationships are also simulated. (This assumes the use of foreign keys in database design...).

There's more, but this should be enough to prompt you to head over to MSDN and download Database Edition.

:{> Andy

Announcing Database Edition CTP16

andyleonard — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:41:00 GMT

Gert Drapers announces the availability of Visual Studio Team System Database Edition CTP 16!

The Database Edition team is cranking out some cool code - great work team!

:{> Andy

New Database Edition CTP!

andyleonard — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:53:00 GMT

I'm a little late on this one...

Gert announces the availability of Microsoft® Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR July CTP!

Lots of cool stuff in this release. I have a post in the works with screenshots of how to install the June CTP... I suppose I can scrap that now and work on this!

:{> Andy

Database Edition Now Does DB2!

andyleonard — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:20:00 GMT

Tech Ed 2008 included some major announcements for database development folks. One of the biggees was this - and announcement that Database Edition is going to support DB2 development!

Gert and the team have been working hard to expand the underlying architecture and functionality of Database Edition (making it extrememly difficult for this one author I know in Farmville to keep up... I'm not complaining!). Rearchitecting Data Dude to utilize a provider-based model was no small task, but the team at Microsoft has been able to pull it off - way to go team!

These changes affect a lot of how Database Edition currently works. We were given a preview at the MVP Summit in April. The work is impressive, but the ability and agility provided by the new architecture is even more so.

You will see a ton of changes with the release of Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR. You can currently download the June CTP here.

:{> Andy

New E-Book: Mastering Database Edition Volume 1

andyleonard — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:20:00 GMT

My first e-book is out! Mastering VS 2008 Team System Database Edition, Vol 1: Creating and Deploying Database Projects is available at Solid Quality Press.

Volume 1 of the Mastering Visual Studio 2008 Team System Database Edition series focuses on creating and deploying database projects. The goal of the manuscript is to provide the concise and practical knowledge required to build and deploy a database project. Topics include database project creation, database deployment, database development principles and best practices, version control, and database application lifecycle management.

I'm writing Volume 2 now which focuses on Database Testing with Database Edition.

:{> Andy

Visual Studio 2008 SP1 Beta

andyleonard — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:58:00 GMT

ScottGu has a great post about enhancements in Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1, released today in Beta.

Of particular interest to database developers: SQL Server 2008 support, a built-in Entity Data Modeler, and REST support!

:{> Andy

Power Tools for Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition

andyleonard — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:55:00 GMT

Gert and team announce the availability of Power Tools for Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition!

Cool new stuff includes a couple new test conditions, file- and XML-based data generators, and (my favorite) SQL Static Code Analysis integrated into MSBuild / Team Build!

Download page:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=73ba5038-8e37-4c8e-812b-db14ede2c354&displaylang=en

Installer download:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/b/8/fb8d1c0d-c0c4-4004-ab86-12396b2a3ee3/VSTSDB2008PT.msi

Documentation download:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/b/8/fb8d1c0d-c0c4-4004-ab86-12396b2a3ee3/Power Tools 2008.doc

Great work Team!

:{> Andy

Database Testing on .Net Rocks!

andyleonard — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:00:00 GMT

I am honored to be the guest of a .Net Rocks! show on Database Testing! Richard Campbell, Carl Franklin, and I recorded the show last night and I had a lot of fun!

Richard and I commiserated about the "DBA condition" in the enterprise. Everyone shared "war stories" about projects. A good time was had by all.

I have to thank Chris Love - friend, tireless advocate of the Raleigh Developer Community, fellow Solid Quality Mentor, and (finally!) MVP - for setting this up. He was the gracious emcee of my recent presentation on Testing The Database to TriNUG (Triangle .Net User Group). Chris had heard a recent .Net Rocks! show where the discussion turned briefly to database testing, so he did the leg work to put Carl, Richard, and myself together for this show.

The show is scheduled for release 29 Jan 2008.

:{> Andy

Microsoft Announces Database Edition!

andyleonard — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 03:11:00 GMT

Gert D announced Visual Studio 2008 Team System Database Edition on his blog today.

There's more good information on Gert's blog about Database Edition, including plans to release a 2008 version of Power Tools "later this month"!

:{> Andy

Technorati Tags: Database Edition Power Tools, Visual Studio 2008