SQL Server Modeling CTP Drops at PDC 2009

In less than a week, Microsoft plans to make public the latest chapter in the evolution of codename Olso, a project that was originally unveiled approximately two years ago and that has suffered numerous and consistent changes since then. Because of the modifications introduced to Oslo during the development process, the upcoming milestone, which will be delivered at the Professional Developer Conference 2009 in Los Angeles next week, no longer resembles the initial solution modeling platform that was offered under the codename in 2007. In this regard, at PDC 2009, the Redmond company will actually release SQL Server Modeling and not Oslo.

“With all of the above in mind, we just announced the transition from “Oslo” to SQL Server Modeling. At PDC, we will release a new CTP using this name, SQL Server Modeling CTP, that will begin to demonstrate how developers will use these technologies in concert with things like T-SQL, ADO.NET, ASP.NET and other parts of the .NET Framework to build database applications,” revealed Douglas Purdy, product unit manager at Microsoft.

When it started along back in 2007, Oslo was geared towards streamlining the application development lifecycle through enhancements delivered to .NET, Visual Studio, Biztalk, and SQL Server. But subsequently, Microsoft stripped components from the modeling platform and integrated them into additional projects, including Dublin, .NET Services, and .NET Framework 4. The software giant explained that the decision to transform Oslo into the three-component SQL Server Modeling was done after taking into consideration feedback from testers and early adopters.

“The components of the SQL Server Modeling CTP are: “M” is a highly productive, developer friendly, textual language for defining schemas, queries, values, functions and DSLs for SQL Server databases; “Quadrant” is a customizable tool for interacting with large datasets stored in SQL Server databases; “Repository” is a SQL Server role for the the secure sharing of models between applications and systems,” Purdy added.

It is important to note that Microsoft doesn’t expect “M,” “Quadrant,” or “Repository” monikers to stick. Purdy revealed that all the three components would receive official labels as they landed. With the availability of SQL Server Modeling CTP, and moving away from the original Oslo vision, the software giant indicated that the “M,” “Quadrant,” and “Repository” components were at the moment integral part of its data platform. As a direct consequence, SQL Server Modeling is planned to ship with a future release of SQL Server.