Data Compression
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Comments posted to this topic are about the item Data Compression
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Though i understood what the OP was trying to achieve I don't like this particular question and I don't like the supporting documentation.
Vardecimal existed only in SQL 2005. SQL 2008 introduced compression (row and page). While vardecimal is a form of compression, the fact that it only exists in 2005 doesn't really match the documentation that was for SQL 2008.
The documentation was also targeted at people looking to downgrade a database from Enterprise edition. If you use the query provided in the documentation and you have no enterprise only features in use in the database being queried, you will get nothing in your result set. That means it is a far stretch to see that you could find vardecimal as an enterprise feature. And if you are running SQL 2008, you will never be able to answer this question correctly if using that documentation as your means to determine enterprise features.
This seems to be a better source for that information (2008 R2)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645993(v=sql.105).aspx
And for the vardecimal feature in 2005, you could use this
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143761(v=sql.90).aspx
All of that said, if people are answering questions based on current edition, this one should have specified that it was 2005 to avoid that conundrum.
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
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First of all, this question is way too easy. Enterprise has all the features, so you don't even have to think.
Secondly, developer is the same as enterprise feature-wise, so that would also have been a correct answer.
Need an answer? No, you need a question
My blog at https://sqlkover.com.
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Koen Verbeeck (11/13/2013)
First of all, this question is way too easy. Enterprise has all the features, so you don't even have to think.Secondly, developer is the same as enterprise feature-wise, so that would also have been a correct answer.
+1
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Koen Verbeeck (11/13/2013)
First of all, this question is way too easy. Enterprise has all the features, so you don't even have to think.Secondly, developer is the same as enterprise feature-wise, so that would also have been a correct answer.
+1
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Koen Verbeeck (11/13/2013)
First of all, this question is way too easy. Enterprise has all the features, so you don't even have to think.Secondly, developer is the same as enterprise feature-wise, so that would also have been a correct answer.
+1
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SQLRNNR (11/12/2013)
Though i understood what the OP was trying to achieve I don't like this particular question and I don't like the supporting documentation.Vardecimal existed only in SQL 2005. SQL 2008 introduced compression (row and page). While vardecimal is a form of compression, the fact that it only exists in 2005 doesn't really match the documentation that was for SQL 2008.
The documentation was also targeted at people looking to downgrade a database from Enterprise edition. If you use the query provided in the documentation and you have no enterprise only features in use in the database being queried, you will get nothing in your result set. That means it is a far stretch to see that you could find vardecimal as an enterprise feature. And if you are running SQL 2008, you will never be able to answer this question correctly if using that documentation as your means to determine enterprise features.
This seems to be a better source for that information (2008 R2)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645993(v=sql.105).aspx
And for the vardecimal feature in 2005, you could use this
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143761(v=sql.90).aspx
All of that said, if people are answering questions based on current edition, this one should have specified that it was 2005 to avoid that conundrum.
Agreed wholeheartedly
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Koen Verbeeck (11/13/2013)
First of all, this question is way too easy. Enterprise has all the features, so you don't even have to think.Secondly, developer is the same as enterprise feature-wise, so that would also have been a correct answer.
+1
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Jason and Koen have pointed out the flaws in this question.
I wonder how many people will end up answering (correctly) "developer edition" and finding out that that answer is treated as wrong.
But there's another flaw - this one in the SQL Server product (we have a non-optional option, which is surely a flaw) not in the question:-
Maybe there should be a none of the above answer; the question doesn't state what release it is about, so it should be assumed to be about 2008, 2008 R2, or 2012 (the ones currently fully released and on standard support); according to Jason none of those supports vardecimal, and if that's correct clearly no edition of any of them does. But looking at database properties using SSMS for sql 2012 or ssms 2008 R2 in developer edition provides a list which says the vardecimal storage option is enabled - I don't currently have a 2008 system to try it on, but I imagine it's the same - and that line is in weak type, which I think means you can't change it, so maybe Jason is wrong - the thing that isn't supported is disabling the feature, the feature itself is supported, so a "none of the above" answer isn't needed. Of course the idea that something which can't be switched off is listed as an option raises an interesting question: if you can't switch it off, it isn't optional so why say it's an option? The ways of Microsoft are indeed arcane. :w00t: And this isn't just a funny thing in SSMS: I can use
sp_tableoption '<table>', 'vardecimal storage format' 1 (or 0)
to tell the system whether an individual table is allowed to use the format, and
select name, object_id from sys.objects where objectproperty(object_id, N'TableHasVarDecimalStorageFormat') = 1
will then list or not list the table depending whether I set the property to 1 or to 0, so something really is going on there, it's not just SSMS being silly.
Tom
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SQLRNNR (11/12/2013)
Vardecimal existed only in SQL 2005. SQL 2008 introduced compression (row and page). While vardecimal is a form of compression, the fact that it only exists in 2005 doesn't really match the documentation that was for SQL 2008.It was deprecated but not removed. See here.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
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Koen Verbeeck (11/13/2013)
First of all, this question is way too easy. Enterprise has all the features, so you don't even have to think.Secondly, developer is the same as enterprise feature-wise, so that would also have been a correct answer.
Also, even though it wasn't an option it is also in the Evaluation Edition.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
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Koen Verbeeck (11/13/2013)
First of all, this question is way too easy. Enterprise has all the features, so you don't even have to think.Secondly, developer is the same as enterprise feature-wise, so that would also have been a correct answer.
++1 🙂
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Koen Verbeeck (11/13/2013)
First of all, this question is way too easy. Enterprise has all the features, so you don't even have to think.Secondly, developer is the same as enterprise feature-wise, so that would also have been a correct answer.
Agree completely.
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I wouldn't knock the fact that most of us found it an easy question. There are always people new to SQL Server and we should cater for them too.
Perhaps it would have been helpful to state that currently all features exist in the Enterprise edition (as well as Developer and Evaluation editions). Then that would be valuable information especially as it would highlight that you need to be careful when using the Developer and Evaluation editions as someone can inadvertently use a feature that ties them to a more expensive edition than they may have planned for.
Gaz
-- Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen...they're everywhere!!!
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Gary Varga (11/13/2013)
SQLRNNR (11/12/2013)
Vardecimal existed only in SQL 2005. SQL 2008 introduced compression (row and page). While vardecimal is a form of compression, the fact that it only exists in 2005 doesn't really match the documentation that was for SQL 2008.It was deprecated but not removed. See here.
Granted that it is there behind the scenes, but you can't change the setting as of SQL Server 2008. If you can't enable/disable the setting, then it is not available.
The reason that it is still present is because it was replaced by page / row compression which use the same technique to compress as vardecimal did.
All user databases are created by default with the vardecimal setting set to true since 2008. Whatever the reason being (whether it be related to row/page compression or forced backward compatibility), it's technically there. But it doesn't really matter because it can't be changed. And even with it enabled, the query in the source documentation for this question will not show vardecimal in the result set. Why? Because the feature is a ghost - it's not really there. 😀
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
Learn Extended Events
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