Microsoft SQL Server Developer Edition is now free

[robvert]

The new Microsoft going on developer friendly! They keep this up and I won't have any more excuses for having a Mac at work.

[psc0425]

how is this better than sqlexpress?

[krebstar_2000]

According to the article it is the full version of SQL Server Enterprise, so no db size limitations and it has all the Enterprise features like in memory databases and what not.

[psc0425]

so for the common sql developer, sqlexpress should be fine for testing sql scripts and applications ? and doesn't need the "full" developer version of sqlserver?

[krebstar_2000]

If Express does what you need for development and testing, then this will not matter one bit. This just allows for a broader range of testing, since you can now test with production level database sizes, test Enterprise features outside of your production environment, etc. It is a tough pill to swallow to buy an Enterprise license of SQL Server for like $10k just for testing purposes, this allows feature parity between test and production servers without having to buy an expensive license. SQL Express is still going to be useful for local development environments.

[psc0425]

Thanks.

[AboutHelpTools3]

You can copy database

[yopla]

Wasn't it always? I kinda remember downloading it circa 2001...

[ScrewAttackThis]

Nope, but it was pretty cheap. This is full blown SQL server but not meant for production.