>What tactics do people us to keep the transaction log small?

Huge question. Basically, if you're using the server for development, enable the Trucate Log on Checkpoint option (6.5, 7.0) or use the SIMPLE recovery model (2000). These will cause SQL Server to toss the inactive portion of the transaction log after each checkpoint.

For a production server, you'll want the transaction log. It's very important for diaster recovery. To manage the size of the log, you'll have to back it up with the BACKUP TRANSACTION command. You'll have to figure out how often based on the activities on the server.

-Mike