SQL Server™ 2005 Bible

Chapter 41. Administering SQL Server Express

In This Chapter

• The free Database Engine

• Silent installation

• Management Studio Express

SQL Server 2005 Express Edition, also called SQL Server Express, or SSE for short, is the low-end version of Microsoft's very popular database program SQL Server. SSE is free to use and redistribute. Any database you create with SSE is directly usable in higher-level versions of SQL Server. Microsoft has taken big steps in making SSE approachable and usable by all types of developers, from beginners to advanced users. The functionality and ease of use packed into SSE make it a very attractive choice for your database application.

SSE is well suited for a limited installation such as a local database setup for a developer. For example, you don't get management software as part of the package; the management software comes as a separate download. In addition, you won't see some features such as Reporting Services in the current version, although Microsoft might add this particular feature in a future version. Unlike other Express products that Microsoft has introduced, SQL Server Express will remain a free download indefinitely.

Because SQL Server Express will typically be repeatedly installed in numerous systems, this chapter details how to create a silent install that can be built into your application installation. In addition, SQL Server Express uses a modified version of SQL Server Management Studio, which is also covered in this chapter.

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