Connected Database Development
This section describes features provided by SQL Server Data Tools for designing and querying a connected database.
Using the SQL Server Object Explorer in Visual Studio, developers can now create, edit and browse database objects located in either an on-premises database server, such as SQL Server 2008 or Microsoft SQL Server 2012, or off-premise in SQL Azure. Developers can easily clone an existing production database to a test instance, perform additional development work on it, and publish the changes back to the production database.
Note
How To topics in this section contain a series of tasks that can be completed in a sequence.
In This Section
| Topic | Description |
|---|---|
| How to: Connect to a Database and Browse Existing Objects | Connect to a database and browse its entities. |
| How to: Create Database Objects Using Table Designer | Use the new Table Designer to design tables and manage table relationships. |
| How to: Update a Connected Database with Power Buffer | Update a connected database without writing ALTER scripts. |
| Filter and Sort Dialog Box | Specify which data should display in the Data View. |
| How to: Create New Database Objects Using Queries | Use Transact-SQL Editor to edit and execute Transact-SQL scripts. |
| How to: Edit an Existing Table using Queries | Write Transact-SQL scripts to edit the definition of a table, or populate data. |
| How to: View and Edit Data in a Table | Use the Data Editor to view or enter data in a table. |
| How to: Delete Objects and Resolve Dependencies | Rename or delete database entities, and let SQL Server Data Tools automatically resolve object dependencies. |
| How to: Clone an Existing Database | Create a development database from a production database. |
| Extract, Publish, and Register .dacpac Files | Shows how to extract and publish .dacpac files. |