SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 Available

An updated beta release of SQL Server 2005 (code-named Yukon), along with the recently released Beta 1 of Visual Studio 2005 (code-named Whidbey), gives developers their best look yet at Microsoft’s forthcoming database platform. In Mar. 2004, Microsoft announced that both products would be delayed until the first half of 2005. The somewhat late delivery of the second beta release (it was expected in the first half of 2004) indicates that the final release is likely to be closer to the middle of 2005 than the beginning.

SQL Server 2005 will deliver many software development improvements, such as greater capabilities for storing and processing application-specific data types and XML data; new server-side programming interfaces and tools that enable development of stored procedures and triggers in .NET languages, such as Visual C# and Visual Basic .NET; and a “message broker” system, similar to the Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) system, to provide reliable message delivery to and from database applications.