> -----Original Message-----
> From: Dennis Chuah [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2000 1:05 PM
> To: Multiple recipients of list database
> Subject: RE: [DUG-DB]: What cheap databases are any good?
>
> Or if you have a license of MSDN, and which sensible Windows platform
> developer should be without? But, it is still *FREE* - you
> don't have to
> pay royalties, etc. And not to mention you can use ADO...
Also depends on which level of MSDN subscription - we have MSDN, O2K &
Visual Studio 6 & none seemed to have MSDE (that I could find anyway).
I mentioned last week that I had installed an application that required
SQLServer 6.5 or 7. I wanted to try using MSDE but found I could not get my
hands on it easily.
>From the info I did find it sounds as though MS have cripped the MSDE so it
replaces JET but does not threaten SQL$erver sales - (after 10 users it gets
slower than Jet).
Stuff I dug up.
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What is MSDE, anyway?
MSDE (Microsoft Database Engine) is a tool-less, documentation-less,
limited-connection, freely distributable (for some developers) version of
SQL Server 7.0. At a recent conference I was amazed to hear a speaker state:
"MSDE is not SQL Server." No, really, it is. Very simply, MSDE is a version
of SQL Server that makes it possible for developers to build and test SQL
Server-based apps without having to buy and install SQL Server.
I installed Office 2000, yet I don't have MSDE installed on my computer. Why
not? MSDE requires a separate installation. Your guess is as good as mine on
this one. To get it installed on your computer, go to the \SQL\X86\SETUP
folder on the Office 2000 CD and run SetupSQL.
Can I distribute MSDE with my applications?
That depends. If you've purchased Office 2000, you can use MSDE, but cannot
distribute it. If you've purchased Office 2000 Developer, you can freely
distribute MSDE with your applications. If you've purchased Visual Studio
6.0, you can download MSDE for free from Microsoft's Web site, and
distribute it with your applications. The real question is: If you've
purchased Microsoft Office and VS6, and you download MSDE, can you
distribute Office applications using it? My guess is that legally you
cannot, but you'll need to wade through the license agreements to figure
this one out.
Why not use MSDE instead of SQL Server for all my applications? Why should
my clients have to pay for SQL Server?
For starters, MSDE is optimized for five to 10 users. With more than that,
the performance drops severely. With a workgroup of 10 to 50 users, you'll
generally get better performance from Jet than you will using MSDE. As a
developer, MSDE comes with no tools, and no documentation. Sooner or later,
you'll want the management tools, and you'll want some documentation. If
your clients have only a few users, then MSDE might be a viable alternative.
For most purposes, however, MSDE is best used as an "upsize potential." It's
like that old marketing ploy: The first one is free, to get you hooked. Once
you're hooked, you have to buy more and more. With MSDE, it's that upsell to
SQL Server that makes sense to Microsoft.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/msde/download.asp
http://www.officevba.com/opinion/2000/01/vba200001bw_o/vba200001bw_o.asp
http://www.sqlmag.com/Articles/Content/7840_01.html
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