Before delving into the new features in SQL Server 2016 and 2017, let's have a quick recapitulation of the SQL Server features for developers that are already available in the previous versions of SQL Server. Please note that this chapter is not a comprehensive development guide; covering all features would be out of the scope of this book. Recapitulating the most important features will help you remember what you already have in your development toolbox, and also understand the need for and the benefits of the new or improved features in SQL Server 2016 and 2017.
This chapter has a lot of code. As this is not a book for beginners, the intention of this chapter is not to teach you the basics of database development. It is rather a reminder for the powerful and efficient Transact-SQL (T-SQL) and other elements included in SQL Server...