Even though the release of Microsoft's SQL Server 2008 SP1 last week didn't generate much buzz, it is a noteworthy turning point for Microsoft's key database platform.
As reported by Kurt Mackie, Microsoft released SP1, which includes Cumulative Updates 1 through 3 all rolled up in the service pack. Microsoft also added some administrative improvements, including a slipsteam facility, a service pack uninstall capability and Report Builder 2.0 Click Once.
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Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 04/15/20093 comments
It seems the open source world is gunning for a bigger piece of the SharePoint pie these days.
As Alfresco Software Inc. continues to emerge as the leading provider of open source software enterprise collaboration software, rival open source vendors are stepping up their efforts.
For its part, Alfresco last week said it finished 2008 with 103 percent year-over-year revenue growth, as well as 92 percent year-over year growth during the last quarter of 2008 for the period ended February 28. Since it didn't disclose its' revenues, it's hard to get too excited about that stat, but the company does appear to be on a roll.
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Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 04/08/20093 comments
Microsoft is having a hard time convincing skeptics that its Azure cloud services will support non .NET languages.
Consider a presentation given at this week's Cloud Computing Expo in New York by Yousef Khalidi, a distinguished engineer for Microsoft's cloud infrastructure services. Khalidi emphasized that its forthcoming Azure cloud platform will support both native and managed code, and not just .NET including Java, Ruby and PHP.
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Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 04/01/20090 comments
Microsoft has been quietly working to revive an old but trusted data access technology that some thought it had left for dead -- Open Database Connectivity or ODBC.
The popular API for providing SQL access to C and C++ applications (as well those built in other languages), ODBC has remained dormant for the better part of the past decade after Microsoft shifted emphasis to its COM-based OLE DB. Microsoft recommitted to ODBC two years ago and, in January, released ODBC 3.8 in beta 1 of the Windows 7 SDK .
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Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 03/26/20092 comments
If IBM actually ends up acquiring Sun Microsystems,
the rumor that surfaced yesterday
, it could have interesting implications for the database market.
Before I go on, let me be clear -- this deal is still rumored and while reports suggest it could happen in days, it could fall apart. Now on for the speculation.
Of course the repercussions of such a megadeal transcend way beyond one particular component of Sun's arsenal, which includes a contracting server business that is nonetheless well regarded technically, microprocessors, software and a deep bench of R&D. And of course there's perhaps Sun's most visible asset -- Java.
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Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 03/19/20090 comments
Microsoft in recent weeks began dropping hints that it would be announcing a revamped iteration of its SQL Data Services -- its cloud-based database service that's been available for testing for four months -- after the testers insisted they wanted SDS to have native relational capabilities.
In a surprise move, Microsoft said yesterday that it would expose its Tabular Data Stream (TDS) over-the-wire protocol for accessing SQL Server via its forthcoming Azure Services Platform. The move reverses the existing plan to offer SDS via the REST Web services interface. I spoke today with Niraj Nagrani, a senior product manager for SDS at Microsoft, about the changes.
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Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 03/11/20091 comments
Microsoft appears to be revamping its SQL Data Services with plans to add relational services, a move that does not seem to be catching too many observers by surprise.
As reported by blogger Mary Jo Foley last week, it appears Microsoft is overhauling SDS, launched initially one year ago as SQL Server Data Services. For its part, Microsoft is promising some big SDS news at MIX 09 in two weeks. "We will be unveiling some new features that are going to knock your socks off," wrote Microsoft senior program manager David Robinson in the SDS team blog last week.
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Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 03/04/20090 comments
Microsoft's announcement that it will offer an Oracle database plug-in for the next release of Visual Studio Team System is a coup for SQL Server developers who have little or no experience with the rival but widely deployed data repository.
The Oracle plug-in is a Database Schema Provider (DSP) that will be made available as an option to VSTS 2010 by Quest Software Inc., said Jason Zander, Microsoft's general manager for Visual Studio, who made the announcement at the VSLive! conference in San Francisco, as reported by Redmond Developer News editor Kathleen Richards.
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Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 02/25/20093 comments
When
I pointed last week
to the potential conflict that Microsoft's Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) can have on database developers and DBAs, I apparently struck a nerve. Some said I hit the nail on the head, while one said I was oversimplifying the matter and creating FUD.
But for some database developers and administrators -- and in many cases even higher up in the IT food chain, the unintended consequences of SharePoint's growth can lead to a lack of control for how data is kept in sync as more data ends up in MOSS.
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Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 02/18/20090 comments
It has been well chronicled how pervasive Microsoft's SharePoint Server is becoming in all enterprises.
Just look at the large pharmaceutical conglomerate Pfizer, which has 6,000 SharePoint sites used by 63,000 employees -- that's two-thirds of its entire rank and file.
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Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 02/12/20094 comments
It has taken longer than initially planned, but the release candidate of Microsoft's ASP.NET Model View Controller, design pattern for Test-Driven Development of enterprise scale Web applications, is now available.
As reported Tuesday, Microsoft is urging developers to check out the feature-complete release candidate, which is slated to ship next month presuming no major issues arise, said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of Microsoft's developer division in a blog posting announcing the release.
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Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 01/29/20090 comments
I'm not big on making New Year's resolutions. Instead, every year at this time I make a promise to myself that I will try something new. That thought struck a chord last week when I was chatting with independent consultant Don Demsak, a Microsoft MVP.
While we were talking in general about these tough economic times, Demsak lamented if you're a .NET developer with a broad set of skills you may be better off than many others in the IT profession these days. However just being a .NET developer won't necessarily make you stand out in the crowd, he warned.
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Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 01/14/20090 comments