Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Bible

81

SQL Server Management and

Development Tools

IN THIS CHAPTER

Exploring a UI Worthy of SQL Server 2012

Navigating SQL Server’s Objects

Organizing Projects

Being Productive with Query Editor

Using SQL Snippets

S

QL Server’s primary user interface is SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), a powerful set

of tools within a Visual Studio shell that enables the developer or DBA to develop database

projects and manage SQL Server with either a GUI interface or T-SQL code. For business intel-

ligence (BI) work with Integration Services, Reporting Services, and Analysis Services, a companion

tool is available called SQL Server Data Tools.

Like many things in life, Management Studio’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness. The

number of tasks, tree nodes, and tools within the studios can overwhelm the new user. The win-

dows can dock, fl oat, or become tabbed, so the interface can appear cluttered without any sense of

order.

However, when the individual pages are understood, and the interface options mastered, the stu-

dios are fl exible, and you can confi gure interfaces to meet the specifi c needs of any database task.

Much of using Management Studio is obvious to experienced IT professionals, and subsequent

chapters in this book explain how to accomplish tasks using Management Studio, so every feature

or menu item isn’t explained in this chapter. Instead, this chapter is a navigational guide to the

landscape, pointing out the more interesting features along the way.

Management Studio is backward compatible, so you can use it to manage SQL Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008, and

SQL Server 2005 servers. It’s SMO-based so some features may work with SQL Server 2000, but it’s not guaranteed to be

compatible.

CHAPTER

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