Whether SQL Server 2008 is a patch pack for SQL Server 2005

As SQL Server 2008 gets more and more into the spotlight, there's a growing number of voices saying that SQL Server 2008 (Kaitmai) is just a patch pack for SQL Server 2005. That's what I thought, too, because we put too much attention on, for example, geo-spatial support, hierarchical ID, File stream, and it's true that these features are built in SQL Server 2005 's CLR- Integrated platform, but we also need to see other features in SQL Server 2008, such as Resource Governor, declarative Management Framework, change Data Capture, Reporting Service IIS agnostic, deployment, and so on. STEVEB in the U.S. launch Policy-base management in the top 10 new features of SQL Server 2008, as well as the U.S. launch on Activity Monitor improvements, Object Search and T-SQL Debugger by user nickname three surprise Features. Of course, there are those who say these are developed on the technical basis or technical route of the DMV and DDL triggers, but which product is not developed from a technical route or a fundamental reform?

So Microsoft calls SQL Server 6.0/6.5 the first-generation database product, SQL Server 7.0/2000 is called a second-generation database, and SQL Server 2005/2008 is called the third-generation database product. And so on, would SQL Server vnext be a fourth generation database product, and what would be a revolutionary change? Grid?... Oh, that's irrelevant.

So we should still be tolerant of SQL Server 2008, or should we upgrade to SQL Server 2008.

Attach the new features and improvements listed in SQL Server 2008 Now:

Policy-based Management

Management/performance data collection

Extended Events

Database Mirroring Enhancements

Query Plan Freezing

Resource Governor

Transparent Data encryption

External Key Management

Hot Add CPU

Partition aligned index views

Backup compression

Table Valued Parameters

DDL Trigger Enhacements

T-SQL Programming enhancements

T-SQL Intellisense

Entity Data Model

Linq

Visual Entity Designer

Service Broker enhacements

SQLCLR enhacements

multi-server Query

Configuration servers

Hierarchy ID