MS SQL Server 2005

has Been released!

[Krapulator]

Curiously (or perhaps not so), they have released a free version as well - SQL Server 2005 Express. This is a very interesting move...an attempt to eat into MySQL market share perhaps?

[Lord Majestic]

You can't run it on Linux, which means you have to run on Windows, thus costing more in the first place. I doubt it will make any effect on MySQL share even if it did not have restrictions. MySQL is free and working well, why change to something crippled even if its free?

[Krapulator]

The restrictions seem to be higher level functionality that a lot of developers probably don't use anyway.

I use both databases regularly but I think MSSQL is far more sophisticated and powerful and I would definitely be more inclined to use it over MYSQL if there was no cost difference.

[Lord Majestic]

The restrictions seem to be higher level functionality

4 GB database size is not that much. They also may have concurrency limits like they had in previous free version of the database.

[Krapulator]

Good point re:concurrency limits - I had a look through Micorsoft's site and they claim there is no concurrency throttle.

The 4GB limit is a consideration, however this is more than enough for many of the smaller scale website/CMS's I do.

[aspdaddy]

Express is just the MSDE upgrade. Theres no concurrent user limit, and no workload governor like MSDE.

Theres a limit of 1GB/1 proc unklike MSDE, which stops it being used for busy ecommerce sites so I dont think its competing with MySQL at all.

SQL Agent and programmable DTS are not included either making hard to use for a business system.

IMO its aimed at application developers just like MSDE was.

[Easy_Coder]

which means you have to run on Windows thus costing more in the first place

Not if your running in a shared hosted env.