computer science

History of Microsoft SQL Server

History of Microsoft SQL Server is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand History of Microsoft SQL Server rather than just read about it. In short: The history of Microsoft SQL Server begins with the first Microsoft SQL Server database product – SQL Server v1.0, a 16-bit relational database for the OS/2 operating system, released in 1989. Versions Detailed history Genesis By the late 1980s Microsoft was interested in the low end of the database software market, while Sybase focused on the Fortune 1000.

Key takeaways

History of Microsoft SQL Server belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect History of Microsoft SQL Server to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of History of Microsoft SQL Server from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The history of Microsoft SQL Server begins with the first Microsoft SQL Server database product – SQL Server v1.0, a 16-bit relational database for the OS/2 operating system, released in 1989.

Versions

Detailed history

Genesis By the late 1980s Microsoft was interested in the low end of the database software market, while Sybase focused on the Fortune 1000. After the former discussed a partnership with Sybase rival Informix Corporation, in January 1988 Microsoft joined Ashton-Tate and Sybase to create a variant of Sybase SQL Server for IBM OS/2 (then developed jointly with Microsoft) compatible with Ashton-Tate's dBASE software. Information Builders, Borland, and Symantec Corporation announced support for the product. Microsoft's Bill Gates praised Sybase as the best SQL database engine, and persuaded Ashton-Tate to use it instead of its own. Rivals such as Microrim (R:Base), Novell, Oracle Corporation, and Lotus Development said that they would use their own technology, or that they expected IBM's own SQL technology in OS/2 Extended Edition to be the standard. Scheduled for the second half of 1988, it was released in 1989. This was the first version of Microsoft SQL Server, and served as Microsoft's entry to the enterprise-level database market, competing against Oracle, IBM, Informix, Ingres and later, Sybase. SQL Server 4.2 was shipped in 1992, bundled with OS/2 version 1.3, followed by version 4.21 for Windows NT, released alongside Windows NT 3.1. SQL Server 6.0 was the first version designed for NT, and did not include any direction from Sybase. Sybase revenue grew quickly during the late 1980s from the Microsoft relationship. About the time Windows NT was released in July 1993, Sybase and Microsoft parted ways and each pursued its own design and marketing schemes. Microsoft negotiated exclusive rights to all versions of SQL Server written for Microsoft operating systems. (In 1996 Sybase changed the name of its product to Adaptive Server Enterprise to avoid confusion with Microsoft SQL Server.) Until 1994, Microsoft's SQL Server carried three Sybase copyright notices as an indication of its origin.

SQL Server 7.0

After problems at its main rivals, SQL Server became Oracle's most important competitor. SQL Server 7.0 was a major rewrite (using C++) of the older Sybase engine, which was coded in C. Data pages were enlarged from 2k bytes to 8k bytes. Extents thereby grew from 16k bytes to 64k bytes. User Mode Scheduling (UMS) was introduced to handle SQL Server threads better than Windows preemptive multi-threading, also adding support for fibers (lightweight threads, introduced in NT 4.0, which are used to avoid context switching). SQL Server 7.0 also introduced a multi-dimensional database product called SQL OLAP Services (which became Analysis Services in SQL Server 2000). SQL Server 7.0 would be the last version to run on the DEC Alpha platform. Although there were pre-release versions of SQL 2000 (as well as Windows 2000) compiled for Alpha, these were canceled and were never commercially released. Mainstream support ended on December 31, 2005, and extended support ended on January 11, 2011.

SQL Server 2000 SQL Server 2000 included more modifications and extensions to the Sybase code base, adding support for the IA-64 architecture (now out of "mainstream" support). By SQL Server 2005 the legacy Sybase code had been completely rewritten. Since the release of SQL Server 2000, advances have been made in performance, the client IDE tools, and several complementary systems that are packaged with SQL Server 2005. These include:

an extract-transform-load (ETL) tool (initially called Data Transformation Services or DTS, and later called SQL Server Integration Services, or SSIS) SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), or "Reporting Server" an OLAP and data mining server (Analysis Services) several messaging technologies, specifically Service Broker and Notification Services SQL Server 2000 also introduced many T-SQL language enhancements, such as table variables, user-defined functions, indexed views, INSTEAD OF triggers, cascading referential constraints and some basic XML support. With the release of Service Pack 3, Microsoft also released the first 64-bit version of the SQL Server for the Itanium IA-64 platform (not to be confused with the x86-64 platform). Only the SQL Server relational engine and SQL Agent were ported to Itanium at this time. Client tools, such as SQL Server Management Studio, were still 32-bit x86 programs. The first release of SQL IA-64 was version 8.00.760, with a build date of February 6, 2003. Mainstream support ended on April 8, 2008, and extended support ended on April 9, 2013.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with History of Microsoft SQL Server

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what History of Microsoft SQL Server claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to History of Microsoft SQL Server before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about History of Microsoft SQL Server ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of History of Microsoft SQL Server

In research: History of Microsoft SQL Server appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses History of Microsoft SQL Server in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: History of Microsoft SQL Server is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Client-server database management systems, Database management systems, History of Microsoft, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for History of Microsoft SQL Server outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study History of Microsoft SQL Server in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what History of Microsoft SQL Server means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain History of Microsoft SQL Server out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is History of Microsoft SQL Server in simple terms?

The history of Microsoft SQL Server begins with the first Microsoft SQL Server database product – SQL Server v1.0, a 16-bit relational database for the OS/2 operating system, released in 1989. Versions Detailed history Genesis By the late 1980s Microsoft was interested in the low end of the databas…

Why does History of Microsoft SQL Server matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study History of Microsoft SQL Server?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on History of Microsoft SQL Server.