In the business world, everything is about being “better, faster and cheaper” than the competition — and SQL Server 2005 offers many new features to save energy, time and money. From programming to administrative capabilities, this version of SQL Server tops all others and it enhances many existing SQL Server 2000 features. Here I’ll outline some significant new features in order of importance:

1. T-SQL (Transaction SQL) enhancements
T-SQL is the native set-based RDBMS programming language offering high-performance data access. It now incorporates many new features including error handling via the TRY and CATCH paradigm, Common Table Expressions (CTEs), which return a record set in a statement, and the ability to shift columns to rows and vice versa with the PIVOT and UNPIVOT commands.
2. CLR (Common Language Runtime)
The next major enhancement in SQL Server 2005 is the integration of a .NET compliant language such as C#, ASP.NET or VB.NET to build objects (stored procedures, triggers, functions, etc.). This enables you to execute .NET code in the DBMS to take advantage of the .NET functionality. It is expected to replace extended stored procedures in the SQL Server 2000 environment as well as expand the traditional relational engine capabilities.
3. Service Broker
The Service Broker handles messaging between a sender and receiver in a loosely coupled manner. A message is sent, processed and responded to, completing the transaction. This greatly expands the capabilities of data-driven applications to meet workflow or custom business needs.
4. Data encryption
SQL Server 2000 had no documented or publicly supported functions to encrypt data in a table natively. Organizations had to rely on third-party products to address this need. SQL Server 2005 has native cap