I agree and disagree. I think many shops are running older versions of SQL Server, but the basics that you are learning in the beginning are the same on 2005, 2008, or 2012. It's just the SQL tools that will be different.


>I don't think SS 2012 is good advice for a newbie who wants to learn the basics. It was just RTM last month. I've got stuff in my refrigerator older than that ;-) You have to be concerned about the stability, and it's not a product where you have to be up to the minute with the latest version. SQL Server shops are notoriously slow to upgrade (reasonably so IMO). I wouldn't be surprised if SS 2005 is still the most commonly deployed production version.