Database Engine Concepts

The Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database Engine is a service for storing and processing data in either a relational (tabular) format or as XML documents. The links in the following table go to the main documentation sections for the Database Engine.

Database Engine Tasks

The order of the topics in the Database Engine documentation follows the main sequence of tasks used to implement a system that uses the Database Engine for data storage:

• Design and create a database to hold the relational tables or XML documents required by the system.
• Implement systems to access and change the data stored in the database. This includes implementing Web sites or applications that work with the data, and also building procedures that use the SQL Server tools and utilities to work with the data.
• Deploy the implemented systems to the organization or customers.
• Provide daily administration support to optimize the performance of the database.

Database Engine Documentation

Section	Description
Building Database Projects	Describes using projects and solutions to manage Database Engine objects.
Designing and Creating Databases	Describes the concepts behind successfully designing and creating databases with the Database Engine.
Accessing and Changing Database Data	Explains the concepts behind providing access to and modifying data in a database.
Using XML in SQL Server	Explains how the Database Engine provides storage for and access to XML data in a database.
Using Native XML Web Services in SQL Server 2005	Explains how the Database Engine works with Windows Server 2003 to receive HTTP SOAP requests without using a middle-tier Internet Information Services (IIS) server.
Security Considerations for Databases and Database Applications	Includes information about how to help secure data and log files.
International Considerations for Databases and Database Engine Applications	Explains how the Database Engine supports the storage and manipulation of multilingual data.
Administering the Database Engine	Describes the management and configuration processes that are required to successfully administer the Database Engine.
Troubleshooting the Database Engine	Provides assistance relative to troubleshooting the Database Engine.
Advanced Database Engine Details	Describes how files and databases are organized.
Database Engine How-to Topics	Provides specific, detailed steps to perform tasks on the Database Engine.