In Browser Query Editor for Azure SQL

Microsoft in the News:

In July of 2009, Google announced that it was developing a partially open source OS that would operate primarily in the cloud.  That OS is of course Chrome OS and it is now the second most popular OS on the market, now beating out Mac OS.  With the onslaught of inexpensive Chromebooks, Microsoft is starting to pay attention. 

Last year, Chromebook enjoyed a 20% growth rate while the PC industry was shrinking.  Since competition seems to bring out the best in companies, Microsoft intends to release Windows 10 Cloud which will compete directly with Chrome OS.

Windows 10 Cloud (“W10C”) will be a scaled down version of Microsoft’s flagship Windows 10.  The intention is that W10C will only run Universal Windows apps from the Windows Store.

There hasn’t been an official announcement as to when W10C will be released, however, there have been indications that it could be as early as April of this year.

In Browser Query Editor for Azure SQL:

There seems to be a steady pace being set by Microsoft for ensuring that all things Azure are constantly being improved.  The latest improvement to Azure SQL is the inclusion of an in-browser query tool.  This new Query Editor has just been released for public preview in Azure.

Until now, to access and query your Azure database, you had to switch to a separate tool.  This can be quite cumbersome when working for clients.  I find I would sometimes have to navigate multiple connections and remote desktop connections with layers of security to do a simple query. Now, you can use an Azure Portal to write queries, execute T-SQL scripts, and manage the results of your query.

If you are looking to jump in right away, be forewarned that this feature is just being previewed right now, so you will be asked to accept the Preview Terms prior to being allowed to use this editor.

To get started, once you have navigated to your SQL database, click the Tools menu, followed by Query Editor (preview).  Or, if you have a SQL Data Warehouse, there is a Query editor (preview) button in the Common Tasks screen.

The Query editor is similar to SQL Server Management Studio for writing queries but far more basic and has less functionality available in graphical user interface format.

This new functionality available in Azure will make quick investigation and working on client’s systems much easier.   I am excited to see how this feature evolves.