Enjoy Every Sandwich

FAQ: GUI Client for SQL Server 2005 Express

I just noticed that I hadn't updated this since XM has been released! Shame on me! Here's where you get the bits and the order in which I suggest installing them.

1. .NET CLR v2.0.40903.27
2. SQL Server 2005 Express December 2004 CTP
3. Express Manager Preview-One

As always be sure to read the readme and associated docs.

Also note that you should completely uninstall all other B2s and CTP of SQL Server and Visual Studio (including the beta and CTP versions of the other Express products) OR start from a freshly paved real or virtual machine BEFORE installing these bits. There's one exception: the November CTP of SQL Server 2005 Developer edition and its paired version of Visual Studio 2005 seem to function just fine with XM.

I've been participating much more in the SQL Server Beta Newsgroups since the release of SQL Server 2005 Express (SSX) since its just a great step forward. One question that I jokingly said “I need to write a Macro for” is frequently asked as:

1. I just downloaded and installed SSX, but I can't find the GUI client for it. Where do I look?
2. Where do I download Express Manager (XM) from?
3. Is there an alternative to SQLCMD?

Here's the story in ten easy points...

1. The planned management tool for SSX is known as “Express Manager“ (or XM)
2. XM will allow to perform management functions for SSX and MSDE 2000. I'm not 100% sure that will work with other SQL Server SKUs but it might.
3. As of today (2004-09-30), XM has not been released to anybody outside of Microsoft that I know of.
4. Since its not been released, that explains why you can't find or download it.
5. There is no official release date announced for XM, but its been suggested that it will be released with Beta3 of SSX.
6. The release date for B3 has not been publicly announced, either.
7. Out-of-the box, SQLCMD is a great way to work with SSX, provided you don't need a GUI.
8. If you do need a GUI for SSX, I recommend Lloyd Sheen's Query Analyzer Replacement Application (QARA)
9. You can download QARA from http://www.tegels.org/qara/
10. The best place for announcements, questions and peer-to-peer support for SSX is the microsoft.private.sqlserver2005.express newsgroup. Information about accessing that is available from http://communities.microsoft.com/newsgroups/default.asp?icp=sqlserver2005&slcid=us&NewsGroup=microsoft.private.sqlserver2005.express (watch for wrap)

Important Notice Regarding QARA and the CTPs

Please note that the currently available version of QARA works only with the Beta 2 version of SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2005 Express when installed on the same computer.. It will not work if you update to the 10/2004 CTP bits on the same computer since a new version of the .NET framework has been issues for that release. Lloyd is currently unable to generate a replacement version of QARA using the released bits.

Thanks for your understanding.

posted Thursday, September 30, 2004 5:40 AM by ktegels

Tegels Laws of IIS

<rant mode=”grouchy”>

I swear that this laws really apply. I can't prove it physically or with the documentation, just a week of headaches and frustration to show for my efforts...

1. Whatever can wrong probably did along time ago and you'll find out about it at the most painful and awkward moment (see KB840875. If you are having problems with IIS6 and publishing via FrontPage Server Extensions)
2. The Growth Rate in Rage Ratio (or GRRR!) function is (p*x)^N where x is the number of changes between an IIS5 hosting platform and N is the number of days you've spent trying to figure out and p is the number of people involved in the project.

</rant>

posted Thursday, September 30, 2004 5:19 AM by ktegels