I wrote an article recently on the Journey To Katmai, looking at some of the new features that are coming in SQL Server 2008. I've actually got a second part almost done, so I'm trying to learn more about this next version of the platform to finish it. From what I've seen, things aren't feature complete and there are some blog references to changes that have already occurred since the June CTP was released.

So I was interested to see this course on SQL Server 2008 and took the time today while kids are playing amongst themselves to check it out. As you might expect, it's a gross overview, but there is some sample code and there are some cool features explained a little. Some that caught my eye:

• Auditing - with a new AUDIT keyword.
• The ability to uninstall service packs as well as package the entire install as a transaction
• The Resource governer
• A separation in ADO.NET to allow developers to work with "entities" instead of tables. Kind of an Object-relational mapping.

At this point, given what I've seen with versions of SQL Server over the last decade and a half, I'm going to recommend you NOT upgrade your systems to SQL Server 2005. You'd be better off learning more about the platform, practicing skills and changing applications to take advantage of new features and upgrade to SQL Server 2008 next year.