Advantages of SQL Server 2008 over SQL Server 2005

Transparent Data Encryption. The ability to encrypt an entire database.
Backup Encryption. Executed at backup time to prevent tampering.
External Key Management. Storing Keys separate from the data.
Auditing. Monitoring of data access.
Data Compression. Fact Table size reduction and improved performance.
Resource Governor. Restrict users or groups from consuming high levels or resources.
Hot Plug CPU. Add CPUs on the fly.
Performance Studio. Collection of performance monitoring tools.
Installation improvements. Disk images and service pack uninstall options.
Dynamic Development. New ADO and Visual Studio options as well as Dot Net 3.
Entity Data Services. Line Of Business (LOB) framework and Entity Query Language (eSQL)
LINQ. Development query language for access multiple types of data such as SQL and XML.
Data Synchronizing. Development of frequently disconnected applications.
Large UDT. No size restriction on UDT.
Dates and Times. New data types: Date, Time, Date Time Offset.
File Stream. New data type VarBinary(Max) FileStream for managing binary data.
Table Value Parameters. The ability to pass an entire table to a stored procedure.
Spatial Data. Data type for storing Latitude, Longitude, and GPS entries.
Full Text Search. Native Indexes, thesaurus as metadata, and backup ability.
SQL Server Integration Service. Improved multiprocessor support and faster lookups.
MERGE. TSQL command combining Insert, Update, and Delete.
SQL Server Analysis Server. Stack improvements, faster block computations.
SQL Server Reporting Server. Improved memory management and better rendering.
Microsoft Office 2007. Use OFFICE as an SSRS template. SSRS to WORD.
SQL 2000 Support Ends. Mainstream Support for SQL 2000 is coming to an end.

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Design Patterns which are used in .NET Framework base class library

As we know that .net is an OOPs based language so we can easily implement design patterns in our projects but some times it comes to mind that, which all design patters microsoft .NET Base Class Library is using internally.
NOTE: This question also popular in interviews.
Lets walk through few Design patterns used in .NET BCL:

Observer Pattern:
This observer design pattern is used for delegates and events.

Iterator Pattern:
Iterator design pattern used in foreach in C# and For Each in Visual Basic .NET

Decorator Pattern:
System.IO.Stream :Any useful executable program involves either reading input, writing output, or both. Regardless of the source of the data being read or written, it can be treated abstractly as a sequence of bytes. .NET uses the System.IO.Stream class to represent this abstraction.

CryptoStream :System.Security.Cryptography.CryptoStream to encrypt and decrypt Streams on the fly, without the rest of the application needing to know anything more than the fact that it is a Stream.

Adapter Pattern:
By allowing managed classes and COM components to interact despite their interface differences, RCWs are an example of the Adapter pattern. The Adapter pattern lets you adapt one interface to another. COM doesn't understand the System.String class, so the RCW adapts it to something that it can understand. Even though you can't change how a legacy component works, you can still interact with it. Adapters are frequently used like this.

Factory Pattern:
System.Convert: System.Convert class contains a host of static methods that work like factory design pattern.

System.Net.WebRequest:
This class is used to request and receive a response from a resource on the Internet.FTP, HTTP, and file system requests are supported by default. To create a request, call the Create method and pass in a URI. The Create method itself determines the appropriate protocol for the request and returns the appropriate subclass of WebRequest: HttpWebRequest, FtpWebRequest, or FileWebRequest. The caller doesn't need to know the specifics of each protocol, only how to invoke the factory and work with the WebRequest that gets returned. If the URI changes from an HTTP address to an FTP address, the code won't have to change at all.

Strategy Pattern:
Both Array and ArrayList provide the capability to sort the objects contained in the collection via the Sort method. Strategy Design Pattern is used with Array and Arraylist to sort them using different strategy without changing any client code using IComparable interface

Composite Pattern in ASP.NET:
ASP.NET has lots of controls. A control may be a simple single item like a Literal, or it could be composed of a complex collection of child controls, like a DataGrid is. Regardless, calling the Render method on either of these controls should still perform the same intuitive function.

Because the domain of controls is so diverse, there are several intermediate derived classes like WebControl and BaseDataList that serve as base classes for other controls. Though these classes expose additional properties and methods, they still retain the child management functions and core operations inherited from Control. In fact, the use of the Composite pattern helps to hide their complexity, if desired. Regardless of whether a control is a Literal or a DataGrid, the use of Composite means you can just call Render and everything will sort itself out.

Template Method Pattern:
custom controls are example of Template Method Pattern.


Reference: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc188707.aspx

Compiled By: Rajesh Rolen

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