I consider Yukon a new way of supporting Microsoft. NET. In fact, when I heard about Yukon I begun to ask myself many questions like "How Yukon supports .NET?", "What makes me go for Yukon?" and "What are the Yukon features?", after some research on my own, I found the answers and I'd like to share with you.
"Yukon will change the world of database development", Professor Prakhar Deva told me that before the release of .NET or even Yukon Beta1, and now I believe him.
Yukon gives the developers the power of integrating the .NET Framework into SQL Server and I think it needs some explanation. Imagine that you can use your favorite .NET language (like VB.NET or C#) to write database objects (triggers, stored procedures, functions and more) without using T-SQL statements. It was over dreamed a few years ago but I think that Microsoft wanted to surprise us many times (.NET then Yukon, who knows what next).
Now you can use your .NET Class Library (more than 5500 classes) to write your Yukon's objects, it's great that the Common Language Runtime has been integrated in Yukon. The .NET integration with Yukon provide the developers with many benefits which decreases the time of development and the final results will be better than ever.
First benefit or integrating .NET is, a more powerful programming model which means that using .NET languages to write your SQL Server objects is more powerful than with the traditional T-SQL statements, although that T-SQL is the primary and will still the primary language of SQL Server. More saver and robust environment for databases has been considered in Yukon, now that your SQL objects will run in the CLR environment that means it will be more secure than the traditional stored procedure that runs on the server. Also Microsoft has added 2 more objects in Yukon; User defined types and aggregates, which give the developers more querying capabilities.
The really good thing that makes our team (and actually all the developers around the world) happy is that Microsoft will integrate database development tools into the Visual Studio.NET's future versions. So you will use only one Visual Studio to develop and debug your database objects, scripts and also writing your client-side code or middle tier. that is, you will use Visual Studio.NET to develop the entire application. Microsoft will release that version of Visual Studio.NET code-named "Wedbey" with these capabilities.
The stability was one of the most important issue that Microsoft wanted to optimize in Yukon and actually the folks in Microsoft did a great job. As you might know that Managed Code uses Code Access Security (CAS) to prevent assemblies from performing certain operations ,and because Yukon integration with the CLR, now Yukon uses CAS which optimize the performance of Microsoft SQL Server and the Running Operating System in the same time. Also the performance optimization come from the fact that CLR provide many services and functions (like memory management, strong data-types, advanced handling mechanism through Try-Catch blocks and Threading) which improve the performance and stability of the server.
Now you have the ability to write complex database coding with .NET languages like C# and that's because of the CLR integration with Yukon. Don't forget that you can use the Object Oriented Programming model in your databases now, because .NET languages provide you with this model. For example, you can use assemblies and namespaces to organize your database code which will help you a lot with the large-complex databases. Remember, that your .NET code is more powerful than T-SQL multiple times, you can use threading, text manipulation capabilities, type safety, thousands of ready to use classes easily accessed from any stored procedure, trigger or user defined function that provide you with almost all you need to deliver the best applications ever.
Choosing between .NET languages or T-SQL when writing your SQL Server objects is a question that you will ask yourself each time you develop Yukon databases and I can tell you that you will know the answer with the experience but let me tell you a little about this choosing issue.
I think that T-SQL is very appropriate when you want a code that will perform only data access, like using INSERT statement to insert some records in a database. You will need to use .NET Languages when you want the code to manipulate complex business logic that needs the power of the .NET Framework Class Library.
An important question that you may ask "Now Yukon can understand .NET code and T-SQL. Where to put the data and where to put the functionality?". In fact, it's up-to-you and up-to-the business logic too. However, you if put the data and the functionality on the server you will decrease the server performance if the functionality takes a lot processor time but you can solve this my placing the data on the server and the functionality on the client.
Microsoft has done a good job improving the database engine, XML and ADO.NET Support and Database Administrator tools.
For Database Administrators Microsoft has folks worked hard to improve the whole administration process. Most of the administration tasks now can be done without taking Yukon offline. Now recovery more faster than SQL Server 2000 and not that only but they did a good job improving server security, availability and reliability. Besides adding new functionalities to the server like dedicated administrator connection. I can't tell you how many features Microsoft added to Yukon for Administrators. For Example, now the Administrator can depend on Yukon's self-tuning capability without worrying about all the details.
Replication, SQL Profiler also has been improved with Yukon but the most important feature that I can talk about in it's the replacement of the Server-Side Enterprise Manager tool with the new Client-Side management console (code-named SQL Workbench). SQL Server Administrators will has a great control on the Client-Side with this new tool. Yukon's Workbench is an integrated environment which will help Administrators and developers do many things, Microsoft integrated the Workbench with Analysis Services, Reporting Services and you will use it to develop XML and T-SQL code. Workbench will be integrated with Visual Studio.NET 'Wedbey' so it will have many features like IntelliSense. Also SQL Server Administrators and Developers will find great toolset for almost everything related to databases from designing database to debugging and deployment.
Using .NET you will be able to program Yukon's the new management language which called Server Management Objects (SMO) which is a replacement of SQL DMO. SMO is very easy to use and don't forget that you can use .NET to program in SMO.
As you know that Indexing was one area where Administrators need more power over it and now in Yukon you can create and maintain index online without taking the server offline and this will be using the T-SQL index option create index with online. Dropping and Altering indexes will be online too.
Yukon includes a native XML data-types for improving the management, storage and retrieval of XML data because Yukon supports XQuery for retrieving XML data and XML Schema Definition (XSD). Web Services have been improved and how you can create it in the database tier making SQL Server HTTP Listener. This will you us a new way of accessing the data. In Yukon you can use HTTP to access SQL Server directly without the need for a middle-tier listener such as Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) Server. SQL Server exposes a Web service interface to allow execution of SQL statements and invocation of functions and procedures. Query results are returned in XML format and can leverage the Web services infrastructure of Visual Studio.
Using SQL Server code-named "Yukon" and Microsoft Visual Studio.NET code-named "Whidbey" Microsoft takes us many steps forward in the way of Global Digital Systems with .NET GDS.NET.