Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2008 All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies®

Chapter I.5. Using SQL Server Management Studio

The average IT professional must be a master of multi-tasking. Because the demands of their jobs never end, wise database administrators, architects, and developers search for enhanced productivity wherever they can find it. That's where the SQL Server Management Studio comes in. Provided alongside every edition of SQL Server (even the free SQL Server 2008 Express), it's an excellent graphical query and administrative tool, especially when compared with those offered by other major, relational database vendors.

No matter your interaction with SQL Server, this chapter helps you see how this versatile tool can make life easier for you. To help you navigate, we begin by providing a 35,000-foot overview of its main menu structure and major icons. We then quickly dive in to what you can learn about your SQL Server instance by interacting with the Object Explorer. Next, we briefly touch on the Template Explorer and the Solution Explorer. The chapter closes with a detailed examination of how to run queries within the SQL Server Management Studio.

Although many character-based utilities are also at your disposal (most of them legacies from earlier versions), as time goes by you'll probably find yourself performing the majority of your database design and administrative tasks within SQL Server Management Studio. Note: We periodically refer ...