Q: Sometimes I need to manage data on a client in a
SQL Server Compact Edition database and keep the
data current through replication. I don’t want to incur
the expense of using SQL Server Workgroup Edition
as the replication publisher. What’s the best way to keep
my data in sync?
A: Microsoft is working on this problem. The
goal is to bring SQL Server Compact Edition
into more desktop applications and let you synchronize
data more easily. Microsoft has released
the new ADO.NET 3.5 Synchronization Services
classes, which let you connect two database
systems and keep the data current. The ADO
.NET Synchronization Services classes are smarter
than remote data access (RDA) and have less overhead
and less need for an expert DBA than merge
replication does. Sync Services is a service-based
API that is coded not unlike ADO.NET and that
supports heterogeneous databases (i.e., the databases
don’t have to be the same type or architecture),
incremental change tracking, conflict detection and
resolution, and many more features. What Sync
Services doesn’t do (yet) is support schema changes
or use on devices. For more information about ADO
.NET 3.5 Synchronization Services, see SQL Server 2005
Books Online. For more information about SQL Server
Compact Edition, see my eBook “Hitchhiker’s Guide
to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition” (www.hitchhikerguides.net/EBooks/default.aspx).
—William Vaughn