SQL Server 2008: New Features Research

April 29th, 2008 by

pdamiani

Last weekend I’ve been researching and learning about the new features in SQL Server 2008. I’ve focused my research on features like Sparse Columns and specially, Spatial Data. In this post you’ll find the results of my research with useful links and information.

Note: By the time this was posted, SQL Server 2008 latest release was February 2008 CTP.

SQL Server 2008 Overview

Here you’ll find the product’s overview with a complete list of new features included in SQL Server 2008. In the meantime take a look at all the improvements made under the topic “Store any information”:

DATE/TIME

SQL Server 2008 introduces new date and time data types:

DATE—A date-only type

TIME—A time-only type

DATETIMEOFFSET—A time-zone-aware datetime type

DATETIME2—A datetime type with larger fractional seconds and year range than the existing DATETIME type

The new data types enable applications to have separate data and time types while providing large data ranges or user defined precision for time values.

HIERARCHY ID

Enable database applications to model tree structures in a more efficient way than currently possible. New system type HierarchyId can store values that represent nodes in a hierarchy tree. This new type will be implemented as a CLR UDT, and will expose several efficient and useful built-in methods for creating and operating on hierarchy nodes with a flexible programming model.

FILESTREAM Data

Allow large binary data to be stored directly in an NTFS file system, while preserving an integral part of the database and maintaining transactional consistency. Enable the scale-out of large binary data traditionally managed by the database to be stored outside the database on more cost-effective storage without compromise.

Integrated Full Text Search

Integrated Full Text Search makes the transition between Text Search and relational data seamless, while enabling users to use the Text Indexes to perform high-speed text searches on large text columns.

Sparse Columns

NULL data consumes no physical space, providing a highly efficient way of managing empty data in a database. For example, Sparse Columns allows object models that typically have numerous null values to be stored in a SQL Server 2005 database without experiencing large space costs.

Large User-Defined Types

SQL Server 2008 eliminates the 8-KB limit for User-Defined Types (UDTs), allowing users to dramatically expand the size of their UDTs.

Spatial Data Types

Build spatial capabilities into your applications by using the support for spatial data.

Implement Round Earth solutions with the geography data type. Use latitude and longitude coordinates to define areas on the Earth’s surface.

Implement Flat Earth solutions with the geometry data type. Store polygons, points, and lines that are associated with projected planar surfaces and naturally planar data, such as interior spaces.

Take a look at this nice diagram showing the SQL Server 2008 Improvement Pillars.

Sparse Columns

Sparse columns are ordinary columns that have an optimized storage for null values. Sparse columns reduce the space requirements for null values at the cost of more overhead to retrieve non-null values.
Because sparse columns have many null-valued rows, they are especially appropriate for filtered indexes. A filtered index on a sparse column can index only the rows that have populated values. This creates a smaller and more efficient index

Spatial Data Support

Spatial data represents information about the physical location and shape of geometric objects. These objects can be point locations or more complex objects such as countries, roads, or lakes.

SQL Server supports two spatial data types: the geometry data type and the geography data type. Both data types are implemented as .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) data types in SQL Server.

Jason Follas has published a series of posts where he describes in detail the concepts behind spatial data and how to use the SQL Server 2008 implementation: