Creating T-SQL Statements in SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005

In SQL Server releases before SQL Server 2005, Microsoft provided several ways to build T-SQL statements. However, many interfaces have changed in SQL Server 2005. Can you provide an overview of some ways I can create and test T-SQL statements?

SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is the primary tool in SQL Server 2005 for building and testing T-SQL statements. SSMS replaces Enterprise Manager and Query Analyzer and provides one interface for managing SQL Server—including the database engine, Analysis Services, SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS), and Reporting Services—and building, editing, and testing T-SQL, Multidimensional Expressions (MDX), Data Mining Extensions (DMX), XML for Analysis (XMLA), and SQL Server Everywhere (aka SQL Server Mobile) queries. Many of these features are designed for all levels of users, from the experienced T-SQL developer to the DBA who creates the occasional T-SQL query.

To build a query in SSMS, start the tool from the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 program group. Once SSMS is running, open a query window to create and test the statement. The type of query window you open depends on the type of statement you plan to build. For T-SQL statements that access data from a relational database, click Database Engine Query on the toolbar, then connect to the applicable instance of SQL Server. If you already have an active databaseengine connection (as opposed to another type of connection, such as a connection to an instance of Analysis Services), you can click New Query to open the query window. . . .