SQL server lite

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SQL server lite

james_dmnds

SSC Veteran

Points: 220
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January 30, 2010 at 10:24 am

#140924

I recently applied for a job a web design company, the director asked me to look at SQL server to see if I am comfortable using it before going further with the job. All I have is an Acer laptop, that's a few years old. Each time I try to create a new database it asks for my server details (I don't have a server). I was wondering if it's possible to use SQL server lite without a server all I want to do is look through some of the features and functions and try to get to grips with the products that the company uses.

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

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Gail Shaw SSC Guru Points: 1004504 More actions · Answer 1

SQL Server is a server application, it runs as a service on a machine. It's not like MS Access.

If you want to play, you can download SQL Server Express (free) and install that. It's limited to databases no bigger than 4GB and there are a lot of features that don't work, but it it should let you get a feel for it.

Express is still a server application, you would still have it running as a service on your machine and connecting to it from the management tools.

Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

We walk in the dark places no others will enter
We stand on the bridge and no one may pass

Florian Reischl SSC-Dedicated Points: 37301 More actions · Answer 2

If you're fine with a single-user database without rich T-SQL features, try SQL Server Compact. Otherwise download and install SQL Server Express, as mentioned by Gail.

Greets

Flo

james_dmnds SSC Veteran Points: 220 More actions · Answer 3

Thanks guys. the director of the company asked my to try SQL lite specifically, but I'm sure SQL express or SQL compact will have similar controls and the language will be the same.

Thanks

James

Gail Shaw SSC Guru Points: 1004504 More actions · Answer 4

james_dmnds (1/31/2010)
The director of the company asked my to try SQL lite specifically, but I'm sure SQL express or SQL compact will have similar controls and the language will be the same.

There's no such thing as SQL Server Lite. The 'lite' version of SQL Server is called SQL Server Express. SQL Server Compact is designed mostly for mobile devices.

If you're going to be doing web development against SQL Server, I would recommend SQL Express. Compact is missing lots of language features that the server versions of SQL use.

There's an opensource database called SQLite. Is that perhaps what your director is talking about? If so, that's not SQL Server, it's not related to SQL server and I doubt that anyone here will really be able to help you with that. The site for that is http://www.sqlite.org/

Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability

We walk in the dark places no others will enter
We stand on the bridge and no one may pass

paul.knibbs SSCoach Points: 15320 More actions · Answer 5

SQLite would be a very strange choice for a web development company, though, considering it's designed to be embedded into an application rather than called from Apache or IIS or what-have-you. The only web-based thing I can think of that uses it is Firefox 3, which uses SQLite to store local information like browsing history!