Chapter 2. Tool Time
Okay, so if you took the time to read Chapter 1, then you should now have a feel for how fast we're moving here. Again, if you're new to all of this, I would suggest swallowing your pride and starting with the Beginning SQL Server 2005 Programming title — it covers the basics in far more detail. For this book, our purpose in covering the stuff in the first few chapters is really more about providing a reference than anything else, so we really are just taking a whirlwind tour. With that in mind, it's time to move on to the toolset. If SQL Server 2005 was not your first experience with SQL Server, then this is a place where you'll want to pay particular attention. With SQL Server 2005, the toolset has changed — a lot.
Virtually everything to do with the SQL Server toolset has seen a complete overhaul for SQL Server 2005. Simplifying the "where do I find things?" question was a major design goal for the tools team in this release. For old fogies such as me, the new tools are a rather nasty shock to the system. For people new to SQL Server, I would say that the team has largely met that simplification goal. In general, there are far fewer places to look for things, and most of the toolset is grouped far more logically.
The tools we will look at in this chapter are:
SQL Server Books Online
The SQL Server Configuration Manager
SQL Server Management Studio
SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS): including the Import/Export ...
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