Data Vs Information
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* Data and Information are synonymic, but there is a clear distinction between these two at least in computer terms.
* Data are plain facts. When data are processed, organized, structured or presented in a given context so as to make them useful, they are called Information.
* It is not enough to have data. Data in themselves are fairly useless. But when these data are interpreted and processed to determine its true meaning, they become useful and can be called Information. Data is the computer's language. Information is our translation of this language.
Data is the name or measure of an entity, thing or item
Data are the raw materials of information
Data is a distinct piece of information
Data must be disorganized or unprocessed
Information is the simplified form of data.
Information is the resultant version of some data.
Information always be processed or organized
Information is the context in which data is taken.
So to summarize:
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The Evolution of Microsoft SQL Server
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1985
*Microsoft and IBM announced a long-term joint development agreement for development of operating systems and other systems software products. This announcement was the beginning of OS/2, a successor to the Microsoft MS-DOS operating system.
*OS/2 stands for "Operating System/2”
1987
* OS/2 formally announced.
* But shortly after the joint declaration, IBM announced a special higher-end version of OS/2 called OS/2 Extended Edition. This more powerful version would include the base OS/2 operating system plus an SQL RDBMS called OS/2 Database Manager.
* But if IBM could offer a more complete OS/2 solution, who would buy Microsoft OS/2? Clearly, Microsoft needed to come up with an answer to this question.
* Microsoft turned to Sybase, Inc., an upstart in the DBMS market and Ashton-Tate.
1988
* New product was announced with name Ashton-Tate/Microsoft SQL Server.
* Ashton-Tate, Microsoft and Sybase worked together to debut SQL server on OS/2.
1989
* Microsoft, Ashton-Tate and Sybase released SQL server 1.0 for OS/2 on UNIX environment.
1990
* SQL Server 1.1 is released with support for Windows.
1991
* IBM and Microsoft end joint development agreement of OS/2.
1993
* Microsoft Windows NT is released.
* Microsoft and Sybase released SQL Server 4.2 version for Windows NT; first 32-bit version.
1994
* Microsoft's success strained its relationship with Sybase.
* Microsoft and Sybase co-development of SQL Server officially ends.
* Microsoft continues to develop the Windows version of SQL server.
* Sybase continues to develop the UNIX version of SQL server. Today’s Sybase DB server is known as Sybase Adaptive Server.
1995
* Microsoft releases version 6.0 of SQL server.
1996
* Microsoft releases version 6.5 of SQL server.
1998
* Microsoft releases version 7.0 of SQL server.
2000
* Microsoft releases SQL server 2000 version.
* Microsoft changes its pattern of naming version and SQL Server version 2000 is Microsoft's most significant release of SQL Server to date.
* If you look at the internal version number using the @@VERSION
function, you'll see that it returns the number 8.00.194.
2005
* Microsoft releases SQL server 2005 version.
2008
* Microsoft releases SQL server 2008 version.
* Microsoft releases SQL server 2008 R2 version.
To Summarize:
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SQL Server Editions
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SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition (32-bit and 64-bit)
Enterprise Edition scales to the performance levels required to support the largest enterprise online transaction processing (OLTP), highly complex data analysis, data warehousing systems, and Web sites. Enterprise Edition’s comprehensive business intelligence and analytics capabilities and its high availability features such as failover clustering allow it to handle the most mission critical enterprise workloads. Enterprise Edition is the most comprehensive edition of SQL Server and is ideal for the largest organizations and the most complex requirements.
SQL Server 2005 Evaluation Edition (32-bit and 64-bit)
SQL Server 2005 is also available in a 180-day Evaluation Edition for 32-bit or 64-bit platforms. SQL Server Evaluation Edition supports the same feature set as SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition. You can upgrade SQL Server Evaluation Edition for production use.
SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition (32-bit and 64-bit)
SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition is the data management and analysis platform for small- and medium-sized organizations. It includes the essential functionality needed for e-commerce, data warehousing, and line-of-business solutions. Standard Edition’s integrated business intelligence and high availability features provide organizations with the essential capabilities needed to support their operations. SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition is ideal for the small- to medium-sized organization that needs a complete data management and analysis platform.
SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition (32-bit only)
SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition is the data management solution for small organizations that need a database with no limits on size or number of users. SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition can serve as a front-end Web server, or for departmental or branch office operations. It includes the core database features of the SQL Server product line, and is easily upgradeable to SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition or SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition. SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition is an ideal entry-level database that is reliable, robust, and easy-to-manage.
SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition (32-bit and 64-bit)
SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition lets developers build any type of application on top of SQL Server. It includes all of the functionality of SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition, but is licensed for use as a development and test system, not as a production server. SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition is an ideal choice for independent software vendors (ISVs), consultants, system integrators, solution providers, and corporate developers who build and test applications. You can upgrade SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition for production use.
SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (32-bit only)
The SQL Server Express database platform is based on SQL Server 2005. It is also a replacement for Microsoft Desktop Engine (MSDE). Integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server Express makes it easy to develop data-driven applications that are rich in capability, secure in storage, and fast to deploy.
SQL Server Express is free and can be redistributed (subject to agreement), and functions as the client database, as well as a basic server database. SQL Server Express is an ideal choice for independent software vendors (ISVs), server users, non-professional developers, Web application developers, Web site hosts, and hobbyists building client applications. If you need more advanced database features, SQL Server Express can be seamlessly upgraded to more sophisticated versions of SQL Server.
SQL Server Express also offers additional components that are available as part of SQL Server 2005 Express Edition with Advanced Services (SQL Server Express). In addition to the features of SQL Server Express, SQL Server Express with Advanced Services contains the following features:
• SQL Server Management Studio Express (SSMSE), a subset of SQL Server Management Studio.
• Support for full-text catalogs.
• Support for viewing reports via Reporting Services.
SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition (32-bit only)
SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition is the compact database that extends enterprise data management capabilities to devices. SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition is capable of replicating data with SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2000, letting users maintain a mobile data store that is synchronized with the primary database. SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition is the only SQL Server edition that provides relational database management capabilities for smart devices.
SQL Server 2005 Runtime Edition (32-bit and 64-bit)
SQL Server 2005 Runtime Edition is offered through the Microsoft ISV Royalty Program. Under the end user license agreement for SQL Server 2005 Runtime Edition, an independent software vendor (ISV) may embed SQL Server code into their solution provided that the customer does not use the SQL Server code to run any other application, or use the SQL Server code in any other context.
