SQL Server Compact support lifecycle - is it a dying product ?

Question

I'm thinking of using SQL Server Compact edition in an existing commercial product, which will be in service for at least 5 years.  I notice that mainstream support ends this year, and extended support in 2021. The whole-database encryption feature in the Compact edition makes it much more suitable than the column-level encryption in SQL Server Express, but if Compact is approaching end-of-life, it's not a good choice.

Is there any official or unofficial information about whether SQL Server Compact will be supported and upgraded in future? Failing that, do Microsoft have any plans to implement whole-database encryption in SQL Server Express?

Answer 1

This question is outside the scope of this site (for consumers) and to be sure you get the best (and quickest) answer it should be asked either on Technet (for IT Pro's) or MSDN (for developers)

*

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-us/home s/en-US/home

http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forum