Query Tools
You can use the following tools to access and change data in instances of SQL Server 2005:
- SQL Server Management Studio
- sqlcmd utility
- bcp utility
SQL Server Tools
SQL Server Management Studio supports using Transact-SQL interactively to access and change data. You can use SQL Server Management Studio to connect to and administer multiple instances of SQL Server at the same time.
The sqlcmd utility is a Microsoft Win32 command-prompt utility for ad hoc, interactive execution of Transact-SQL statements and scripts. To use sqlcmd, you must understand the Transact-SQL programming language. sqlcmd uses the SQL Native Client OLE DB provider API. This replaces the osql command prompt utility that is based on the ODBC API.
The bcp utility can be used to insert lots of rows into SQL Server tables. This utility requires no knowledge of Transact-SQL; however, you must understand the structure of the tables into which the new rows are being copied, and also the types of data that are valid for the rows in the table.
The sqlcmd and bcp utilities let you connect with only one instance of SQL Server at a time.
See Also
Other Resources
Features in SQL Server Management Studio
sqlcmd Utility
bcp Utility
SQL Server Management Studio Tutorial
sqlcmd Utility Tutorial
Writing Transact-SQL Statements Tutorial