SQL Server 2008 in the Homestretch

A release candidate (RC0) made available in June 2008 signals Microsoft is in the final stages of shipping SQL Server 2008, the next version of its database management and business intelligence platform. RC0 follows a series of community technical previews (CTPs) that gave customers an opportunity to work with and provide Microsoft feedback on new features; however, the CTPs generally contained only a subset of the features planned for the product. With RC0 Microsoft has released a feature-complete version of the product that unofficially commences countdown to the product’s launch, which is scheduled for the third quarter of 2008.

Customers can use RC0 to test compatibility of their applications with SQL Server 2008 and to shake out any potential issues they may encounter when upgrading from previous versions, with a reasonable expectation that they will not encounter major differences between the release candidate and the product’s final version. Differences between RC0 and the shipping version of SQL Server 2008 should be mainly bug fixes and fit-and-finish—no new product features should be added, nor should any features be cut.