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[Focus]

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ADO.NET 2.0: Smarter, Faster, Better
The latest release of Microsoft’s data-access tool, ADO.NET 2.0, has a slew of new features designed to solve specific developer problems. Get an overview of what the new release can do to solve your development dilemmas.
 — William Vaughn

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[Features]

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2 Tools to Keep SQL Server Tuned
Use these handy tools to stress-test your SQL Server applications before putting them into production and to tune database and query performance.
 — Hari Ramachandran


BiTemporal Design: Time After Time
All BI technologies fundamentally deal with time history and involve logic based on time. BiTemporal database designs enhance these technologies by providing a framework for temporal data.
 — Robert H. Brune


Red Gate Software SQL Compare 3.2
One function that SQL Server lacks is the ability to compare and reconcile versions of a database. See how Red Gate Software’s SQL Compare fills this important gap and decide if it meets your organization's needs.
 — Michael Otey

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[SQL Server Savvy]

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Comparing Single-Processor and Dual-Processor Performance
Find out whether a multiprocessor server with relatively slow processors is faster than a single-processor notebook computer with a faster processor.
 — Brian Moran


Identifying Processors for Tempdb Database Settings
Get a solution to a potential resource-allocation contention problem.
 — Brian Moran


Identifying Processors in a System
This utility helps you determine how many physical processors are installed on your server.
 — Brian Moran


Performing a Side-by-Side Installation of SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2000
Find out whether a side-by-side installation of SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2000 is feasible.
 — Brian Moran

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[Editorial]

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Ready, Set--Select!
Knowing what 2005 offers puts you in the driver’s seat, so grab the latest Community Technology Preview (CTP) and get up to speed on SQL Server 2005.
 — Michael Otey

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[Inside SQL Server]

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Keeping Concurrent
A new capability, row-level versioning, helps SQL Server 2005 prevent some of the old locking and blocking conflicts.
 — Kalen Delaney

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[T-SQL Black Belt]

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Using Dynamic Filters in Queries
Although there are downsides to using dynamic execution, it can provide better performance than static code when you need to support dynamic filters.
 — Itzik Ben-Gan

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[Letters]

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Letters, October 2005
Readers write in about August's "Logical Puzzle"-- plus some updates on our Readers' Choice issue.
 — Readers

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[New Products]

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New Products, October 2005
Check out new and improved SQL Server–related products.
 — Dawn Cyr

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[SELECT TOP(X)]

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ASP.NET 2.0 Enhancements
COM-based ASP and its successor ASP.NET 1.x are the most popular Web-development frameworks for SQL Server. ASP.NET 2.0 has several new features that make it an even more productive, powerful Web-development platform.
 — Michael Otey

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[Preparing for SQL Server 2005]

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Putting the “Smart” Into Smart Clients
New BI tools in SQL Server 2005 let end users report and learn from data and give developers the ability to embed data mining in applications.
 — Matt Nunn

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[Ask Microsoft]

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Simple But Slow: Performance-Tuning Tips for an Ailing Query
Microsoft's Patrick Conlan comes up with a hatful of tricks to performance-tune a simple query that won't perform.
 — Microsoft's SQL Server Development Team

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[Hands On]

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Trackable Transaction Logs Bring Peace of Mind
A reader highlights his favorite product: Log Explorer
 — Dawn Cyr