back to article Microsoft dyes hair orange to cheer SQL Server 2008 release

Microsoft's SQL Server 2008 has finally found its way into the daylight. Redmond said today it has finalized code for the new version of its database software and entered a release to manufacturing phase. SQL Server 2008 was delayed by several months from its intended release date, but Microsoft is still extremely pleased …

COMMENTS

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    No code

    The link mentioned to grab the Express and Compact editions still show RC0 editions.

  2. RichardB
    Boffin

    sweet

    that is all.

  3. Beelzeebub
    Flame

    Fan feckin' tastic!

    When will it be released on AIX, Solaris and linux then?

    Come on guys, show yer mettle!

    p.s. I asked them this at a conference 8 years ago (on Solaris at the time), did they listen, no!

    Shame, because if they had, it could have killed the big O beast from Silicon valley!

  4. Chris
    Gates Halo

    Why am I not surprised?

    "but Microsoft is still extremely pleased about having a new edition out within 24 to 36 months from the release of SQL Server 2005"

    Of course it is! When you can charge everyone to purchase upgrades and EOL your previous versions why wouldn't you be thrilled to have a new edition out every 24 to 36 months?

    It will make your select statements 5x faster.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    MS SQL Server has lost all credibility.

    Any company whose answer to this "This hits to the very heart of the issue - is optimization allowed to change a program's semantics? Ie: if a program yields certain answers, but runs slowly, is it legitimate for a Query Optimizer make that program run faster, yet also change the results given?" is yes, loses any credibility they once had.

    Shocking, just shocking.

    https://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=350485

  6. BlueGreen

    @MS SQL Server has lost all credibility.

    Very interesting but a bit misleading. If you use functions like newid() [*] in select statements of any complexity then you can expect some odd behaviour, although I didn't realise to what extent.

    Simple fix: don't use non-deterministic expressions in select statements. I never have (and now I never will, thanks to your link).

    The problem isn't one of implementation but MS getting sloppy in design. They should never have allowed such 'functions' to be used in such contexts at all until they'd thought it through properly. Any decent mathematician would have pointed out the problems sharpish and warned against it.

    That said, the fact that:

    "Actually, if you experiment, you can devise others - for example, short-circuit evaluation of AND clauses: make the second clause throw an arithmetic divide-by-zero - different optimizations may execute that second clause BEFORE the first clause"

    bloody hell. They never did document whether boolean ops were short-circuit or not (I looked), and it comes out on a blog. Considering the quality of the rest of their documentation, that's an amazing slip.

    [*] a rather non-functional function, mathematically speaking, in that it's result aren't guaranteed to be the same each time it's called for the same arguments.

  7. Henry Wertz Gold badge

    I think it's sloppy...

    I think it's sloppy. In the connect.microsoft.com link given, they're just like "Well, yeah, NewID etc. won't work, just don't use it with optimization." Documenting this is good, but it'd be much better to have the optimizer be conservative enough to not change semantics by default, and maybe a "dangerous" option that can change semantics. A database first and foremost is supposed to behave predictably.

  8. Jesse Zappa

    Oompa...Loompa...

    Wonder if Ballmer dyed his hair as well?

    What? Oh, right. Nevermind.

  9. Norfolk Enchants Paris

    You are all missing the point

    The dude looks great with an Orange bob.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    DB upgrades have to be one of the biggest cons going

    Critical security and bug fixes aside, the DB makers always tout their latest product is far more optimized than the previous version of 3 years ago. Well of course it bloody well is, 9 times out of 10 the hardware being used to run it has been upgraded during that time! The applications being written have often at least been patched, if not had the SQL recoded to a lesser or greater extent as well.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    why orange

    I don't understand orange... dying your hair is just odd for a software release but why orange... whats the front end / installshield / box colour?

    otherwise woohoo... sql...

  12. amanfromMars Silver badge

    What's not to understand, anonymously. Hooks and Honey Traps/Trojans and 0Day XXXXPloitations

    "why orange ... I don't understand orange... dying your hair is just odd for a software release but why orange... whats the front end / installshield / box colour?

    otherwise woohoo... sql..." ..... By Anonymous Coward Posted Thursday 7th August 2008 08:30 GMT

    Maybe IT alludes to dDutch coding, AC. ...... PhreeFormdD XXXXPression? Although 42 See and Access the Kernel to those Controls you'll need to Immerse yourself in a Real dDeep Red Light Shining.

    MicroSoft Groomed/Hacked and Leading Underground? Now there's a Novelty which would do IT the World of Good. Very Deft in Deed, indeed. And no, Delft TU will not be able to Presently help you in such Matters...... for they are secured under AIVD Rules and therefore eminently and plausibly deniable.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    And guess what? It won't install

    I tried to upgrade my SQL 2005 installation to 2008 and it resoundingly failed. Reason: I also have Visual Studio 2008 installed, and although this is required by big chunks of SQL 2008 the install fails if your Visual Studio doesn't have SP1 on it... but of course SP1 isn't out yet. And no, it doesn't work with the beta SP1.

    SQL2008 = FAIL so far for me then.

  14. Kevin Bailey

    SEVEN!

    SEVEN different versions! That's gonna make it so quick and easy to figure out what version to recommend to clients - not!

    We have clients who use SQL server and ask us to write code, fix things etc.

    What happens now? Do we have to buy all seven versions for our dev and testing machines to make sure we can work on like for like machines - so that's 14 licenses!!!

    So the money people have told the coding people that KISS don't apply.

    No wonder we like working with Postgresql.

    BTW - we moved an Access DB over to Postgresql ages ago and the Access clients work absolutely fine. Client is pleased because the server has now worked without as much as a reboot for 3-4 years.

  15. Jon Kale

    @Kevin Bailey

    What, you mean that your customers might expect you to have a working knowledge of how to do your job? Ye gods, the unreasonable bastards. After all, it's not like you'd expect a Ford garage to know whether you'd be better off with a Ka, a Mondeo or a Galaxy.

  16. aL

    re: various

    @AC

    so you mean there are other (presumably open source) databases where you can get deterministic resutls from queries using non-deterministic functions? thats a pretty neat trick..

    @kevin bailey

    OR you can use the free trial vpc:s of the diffrent versions and do your testing there.. nice and isolated too

    @Peter Lee

    wow really? that sucks :P i guess that means they better release vs sp1 soon

  17. ur2die4
    Alien

    The subtlest of the life in of argument goes something very salutary - Thank you.

    The Hitch of illusory time, by the major thirds, threw his dying coma he had a Sens-OMatic became extremely odd.

    Why Presidents to move faster. Ford and Zaphod and Many people the aircar, - You and prepare for a degree in our guests here we weren't actually deposited them be going to himself, - he explained. Chapter 1 for God's sake?

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    seven versions not enough

    I reckon one should be able to buy the thing by the dll.

    MS press release: "Our marketing dept decided that we really had to taylor our offer to customers' usage.The offer was a bit coarse before, but now we can reallly say we cater exactly to our customers' needs."

    Oh I know, dll is a bit drude still, by the dll API maybe?

    Mine is the one with "death to bad marketing" written on the back.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Looks like AMfM brought a friend

    Feedback loop, anyone?

  20. Kevin Bailey

    @Jon Kale

    OK.

    We have a client with 2GB sized databases - dual xeon system. Lots of precessing of data generated from telecoms kit.

    Now, tell me, which version of SQL Server should we recommend.

    Boom! Postgresql - I've finished.

    Let me know how long it takes you to figure out which SQL server version.

    What? You need more information? Of course you do. Well the contact is..... blah blah blah.... Yawn...

  21. aL
    IT Angle

    strange

    why is it such a problem for people that there are diffrent versions of sql server/windows server?

    i mean how many linux distros are out there seriously? choosing between them doesnt seem to be a problem although that is much more difficult since the all come from diffrent vedors and ther is no complete comparison of their features..

    we use both lamp and wisp so i dont consider myself biased either way, just giving my 02..

  22. Rich Turner

    SQL Express 2008 now available

    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=58ce885d-508b-45c8-9fd3-118edd8e6fff&DisplayLang=en

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