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A couple of days ago, I received a mail from Microsoft Connect which confirmed me as a private tester for Microsoft SQL Server Data Services. While I am still exploring this new service, I just thought of guiding all those interested in this service in order to help you get started with SQL Server Data Services a.k.a SSDS but first up, what is SSDS?

At this years MIX, Microsoft unveiled SQL Server Data Services as a direct competitor to Amazon SimpleDB. SQL Server Data Services  is a web-facing utility-based service designed for businesses and developers that need scalable, highly available, secure and easily programmable on-demand data storage with robust database query capabilities. The platform is built upon existing Microsoft SQL Server relational database technologies. So basically it’s a cloud-based repository service that will offer APIs that enable storage in the cloud.

More on SSDS from Microsoft’s FAQ:

Will SSDS support everything in SQL Server?
SSDS will initially only expose a small subset of what is in SQL Server. Microsoft says it plans to extend the capabilities of SSDS over time with such features as binary large object columns, full text search, and richer data types.

How will developers and customers use SSDS?
It is designed to let developers rapidly run on-demand applications, while end users will be able to query and modify any amount data. SSDS will support REST and SOAP interfaces, which are designed to work with any Internet-development toolkit. XML is the primary interface.

What might SSDS be used for?
Data archival, reference data such as catalogs, business functions such as HR services (ie. healthcare records management), and Web facing applications including social networking and picture sharing.

So how do you get started? The SSDS program as of now is only open to a small group of private testers but the number of testers are increasing rapidly on daily basis as the service approaches a public beta soon.

To use SQL Server Data Services (SSDS), you first need to sign up for the service and acquire a user name and password. For this private beta release, you go to http://www.microsoft.com/sql/dataservices/default.mspx and register your request for the free beta. Invitations are sent via e-mail. Each invitee receives an invitation id. Once you have received your invitation, you go to https://beta.mssds.com/public/Default.aspx, provide your invitation id, and then obtain the necessary credentials to access the data service. After you obtain credentials, you can programmatically create and query flexible entities.

SSDS is a Web 2.0 friendly data service. It supports both SOAP and REST interfaces. As a result, developers can use almost any language or development environment that supports these interfaces. Queries are made using a LINQ syntax from C#. To develop applications with Visual Studio, you will need version 2005 or later. Visual Studio 2008 is the preferred development environment for use with SQL Server Data Services.

Several samples are provided in various languages including C#, Java and Ruby. The C# samples are authored in the Microsoft Visual Studio integrated development environment. One of the samples which I am using to learn program this service is this one posted in MSDN forums by Mike Amundsen. The demo has two parts: a SSDS Proxy server built in C# and a web client done in Ajax. I’ll highly recommend to try out this app to those interested!

I will follow up with my example using SOAP or REST interfaces to develop applications with SQL Server Data Services in C# here at Startup Meme very soon. Might come up with a Webcast too if I get a good response. So do let me know that whether you guys prefer a step by step tutorial or a Webcast session? Last but not the least, dont forget to sign up to get your hands on this service as soon as possible!