Chapter Two
Chapter Two
1 Hardware specification:
Processor : Pentium IV
Memory : 512MB
Hard drive : 40
Keyboard : 107keys
Mouse : Microsoft
2.3.1 MS SQL
What is a database? Quite simply, it’s an organized collection of data. A database management
system (DBMS) such as Access, FileMaker Pro, Oracle or SQL Server provides you with the
software tools you need to organize that data in a flexible manner. It includes facilities to add,
modify or delete data from the database, ask questions (or queries) about the data stored in the
database and produce reports summarizing selected contents.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is comprehensive, integrated data management and analysis
software that enables organizations to reliably manage mission-critical information and
confidently run today’s increasingly complex business applications. SQL Server 2005 allows
companies to gain greater insight from their business information and achieve faster results for a
competitive advantage.
SQL Server 2005 (codenamed Yukon), released in October 2005, is the successor to SQL Server
2000. It included native support for managing XML data, in addition to relational data. For this
purpose, it defined an xml data type that could be used either as a data type in database columns
or as literals in queries. XML columns can be associated with XSD schemas; XML data being
stored is verified against the schema. XML is converted to an internal binary data type before
being stored in the database. Specialized indexing methods were made available for XML data.
XML data is queried using XQuery; Common Language Runtime (CLR) integration was a main
feature with this edition, enabling one to write SQL code as Managed Code by the CLR. SQL
Server 2005 added some extensions to the T-SQL language to allow embedding XQuery queries
in T-SQL. In addition, it also defines a new extension to XQuery, called XML DML that allows
query-based modifications to XML data. SQL Server 2005 also allows a database server to be
exposed over web services using TDS packets encapsulated within SOAP (protocol) requests.
When the data is accessed over web services, results are returned as XML.
For relational data, T-SQL has been augmented with error handling features (try/catch) and
support for recursive queries with CTEs (Common Table Expressions). SQL Server 2005 has
also been enhanced with new indexing algorithms, syntax and better error recovery systems.
Data pages are checksummed for better error resiliency, and optimistic concurrency support has
been added for better performance. Permissions and access control have been made more
granular and the query processor handles concurrent execution of queries in a more efficient
way. Partitions on tables and indexes are supported natively, so scaling out a database onto a
cluster is easier. SQL CLR was introduced with SQL Server 2005 to let it integrate with the
.NET Framework.
SQL Server 2005 introduced "MARS" (Multiple Active Results Sets), a method of allowing
usage of database connections for multiple purposes.
SQL Server 2005 introduced DMVs (Dynamic Management Views), which are specialized
views and functions that return server state information that can be used to monitor the health of
a server instance, diagnose problems, and tune performance.
SQL Server 2005 introduced Database Mirroring, but it was not fully supported until the first
Service Pack release (SP1). In the initial release (RTM) of SQL Server 2005, database mirroring
was available, but unsupported. In order to implement database mirroring in the RTM version,
you had to apply trace flag 1400 at startup. Database mirroring is a high availability option that
provides redundancy and failover capabilities at the database level. Failover can be performed
manually or can be configured for automatic failover. Automatic failover requires a witness
partner and an operating mode of synchronous (also known as high-safety or full safety).
2.3.3 Manageability
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 redefines the capabilities that customers should expect from their
Database Management System. SQL Server 2005 is designed to help organizations reliably and
securely manage enterprise servers. By automating routine tasks, SQL Server 2005 helps lower
the cost of ongoing maintenance with increased efficiency and provides deeper insight into
system health for monitoring, tuning and optimization.
Enterprise Class
With its powerful integrated Management Console and SQL Surface Area Configuration tool,
SQL Server 2005 is enterprise-ready.
Insight Driven
Proactively manage with SQL Server 2005 which provides deeper visibility into the
performance and operations of your system.
Increased Efficiency
SQL Server 2005 enables you to improve process and lower maintenance costs by automating
routine administrative tasks.
2.3.4 Security
Reliability
Achieve a more secure deployment. SQL Server 2005 provides rich security features to
protect data and network resources.
Confidentiality
Protect your data. SQL Server 2005 clustering supports Kerberos authentication on a virtual
server and Microsoft Windows–style policies on standard logins so that a consistent policy is
applied across all accounts in the domain.
Integrity
SQL Server 2005 supports encryption capabilities within the database itself, fully integrated
with a key management infrastructure. By default, client-server communications are
encrypted.
A database most often contains one or more tables. Each table is identified by a name (e.g.
“Students” or “Rooms”). Tables contain records (rows) with data.
2.3.5 Queries
A query is a question or a request. With SQL, we can query a database for specific information
and have a record set returned.
SQL Server supplies a set of system data types that define all the types of data that can be used
with SQL Server. You can also define your own data types in Transact-SQL or the
Microsoft .NET Framework. Alias data types are based on the system-supplied data types.
Objects that contain data have an associated data type that defines the kind of data; for example,
character, integer, or binary, the object can contain. The following objects have data types:
In SQL Server, based on their storage characteristics, some data types are designated as
belonging to the following groups:
Large value data types: varchar (max), nvarchar (max), and varbinary (max).
Large object data types: text, ntext, image, varchar (max), nvarchar (max), varbinary
(max), and xml.
Visual basic knows what a button is and how it works? It also works how to handle
images, menus, dialog boxes, drive and directory list and much else. The programmer does not
have to write code to trap these events the system does that automatically because the program
code runs in response to events. The flow of execution is not as fixed in a traditional program.
Operations do not have to follow a set of sequence and can be easily interrupted, suspended or
abandoned. The process of program design reflects the nature of the system. You begin by the
screen layout events and then any necessary code to co-ordinate the whole program.