What is the Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine?

[VisualDeveloper]

Hi,

 

I am confused to what the MSDE (Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine) is used for?

 

I previously used Microsoft SQL Server 2000 occassionally for my VB6 database applications. But how does MSDE compare to Microsoft SQL Server 2000 in the .NET environment?

 

Thanks,

Shuaib

[Madz]

Microsoft® SQL Server� 7.0 and the Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE) 1.0 are powerful and flexible relational database management systems (RDBMS) that offer developers a comprehensive database platform for building value-added business solutions developed for Microsoft® Windows®.

 

Historically, a system or database administrator was required to install, manage, and configure a database server for end users. Because organizations have placed an increasing focus on reducing the total cost of ownership associated with purchasing and deploying business solutions, eliminating this requirement for a typical database application was a key design goal of SQL Server 7.0.

[bang head here]

I have VS.NET and all that. How can I start to use MSDE? I see that it's installed on my machine, but it seems to be only the services that I can access. Is there no front end like SQL's enterprise manager? How can I start to use MSDE?

 

Thanks.

[divil]

The Server Explorer within VS.NET is like a cut-down version of Enterprise Manager.