TNWiki Article Spotlight - SQL Server Samples Readme
It's Tuesday, so it's time to put another Wiki article in the spotlight!
Today I'm going to feature the SQL Server Samples Readme Wiki article.
The reason of selecting this one is simple. We are all learning here, continuously. We ask questions and get answers on the Forums, or we browse a number of blogs - or we read articles on the Technet Wiki! All of these can help our everyday life with giving quick solutions.
But learning is much more easier if we can see examples. Through examples, understanding a subject is easier, and later, your memory will work far better if you've already seen something - actually working. (Especially if it was you who tried to set up or create something new.)
You can download a trial version of SQL Server anytime. But I think trying AlwaysOn or the BI Semantic Model is not viable using the system databases - and creating own sandbox databases for all the new features can be time-consuming. But there are sample OLTP databases, multidimensional and tabular projects ready to download.
This article is at revision 121 now. The last big wave of updates arrived after the release of SQL Server 2012, since the article is about SQL Server, not a specific version - and the community reacted very quickly to keep it current! It includes information about prerequisites, installation instructions and links to the download pages of all samples for SQL Server 2012.
It is a good starting point for everyone who would like to play around with the latest version of SQL Server. Also, I would encourage everyone to add any useful content to this (or any other) article - believe me, it will be fun!