This week I installed SQL Server, Visual Studio, and the SSIS/SSRS tools as I wanted to brush up on some of the reporting and ETL tools available from Microsoft. It was, what I can best describe as an exercise in frustration. Visual Studio installed with no issues. It’s a great IDE and I’ve used it happily for years. SQL Server (yes the free version) was another matter entirely. I spent the better part of two days trying to get it to install correctly on a standard Win 10 OS. Long story short, I still don’t have a working database to play with.

Compare that to when I installed MySQL and PHP last fall. I downloaded, installed, configured and was coding against tables I created within a two hour time span. No wonder so many hosting and cloud companies are using these. I’ve used a lot of different languages and databases over my career, but the next time I’m asked by a client to recommend one, guess which way I’ll be leaning.

Anyway, something to remember as you design products and systems – simple and easy is nearly always a winner!