Windows Server 2003 compatible Management Tools for SQL Express!
Note to MicroSoft, "Thank you gentlemen!"
I have struggled with this situation for a couple of years now. My development team uses Windows Server 2003 Web Edition on which to develop our applications. The primary reason is that we deploy to that environment and it helps to enhance confidence that there won't be platform incompatibilities when we move from our desktop to the deployment environment. Our workstations are configured, essentially, just like production servers. We almost never have issues related to operating system, installed features, etc, when going from one environment to the other.
However, I could not locally install development editions of SQL Server. In fact, one cannot even install the Enterprise Management Tools for SQL Server on Web Edition. That sucked! Until now, this has been an obstacle that results in using Oracle for projects where SQL server would be easier and, arguably, better. I even tried Oracle XE (personal edition) for prototyping. The footprint for that app is rather large and it reaches its limits very quickly. The need was met, however, and I never even bothered to evaluate SQL Server for that solution. I didn't have time to create a Virtual Machine and try to develop there. Besides that, a VM wouldn't satisfy my needs. Oracle XE, however, is rather buggy. The web based interface messes up every now and then. Data goes to the wrong place. Weirrd stuff... I think I would have returned to mySQL if it weren't for:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=82afbd59-57a4-455e-a2d6-1d4c98d40f6e&displaylang=en
thanks again. It works GREAT pretty OK!
When I use the gui to add rows to existing table and click "execute", it refreshes with no effect, no error and, most importantly, no insert. When I open the sql pane and write my insert statement, it inserts successfully.