>I have been spending a lot of time in stored procedures lately. More than once in a while its limitations make me chafe. It reminds me -- and this is not a warm memory -- of COBOL. I hope major improvements to both T-SQL and the SSMS IDE are somewhere in the pipeline.
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>Which version of SQL Server were you using, and what limitations were you encountering?

I have used SQL Server 2000, 2005, and 2008. Currently 2008. The T-SQL language has seemed like tinker toys in all of them compared to real computer languages. Likewise the lame IDE.

You don't have to blindly defend SS just because you are an expert in it. Which I agree you are. Maybe this is an example of that establishment thing we were discussing <g>.