Hi All,

I would start this topic with a small real incident happened with me. I worked on SQL 2008 for almost 2.5 years and then I mixed my work with SQL 2008 R2. Once we had some work in SQL 2005 – SSIS package. It was a minor modification by playing with few date columns. I tried to use DATE datatype unknowingly and ssis package was giving me error. I did not concentrate on the DATE datatype which I have used and rather I was searching here and there. And finally I recalled that DATE datatype is not available in SQL 2005.

My point with this example is, we should be aware of the SQL environment while working and at the same time its supported/non-supported features. Believe me, sometime this could be the issue and NOT your development or analytical skills.

Ok, let’s get to the point. Microsoft has published a list of database engine features which are going to be changed in SQL Server 2012. Brose following links to find-out in detail.

Deprecated Database Engine Features in SQL Server 2012
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143729%28SQL.110%29.aspx
Deprecated Features of SQL Server Database Engine will be still available in Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Release Candidate 0 (RC 0). But these features are scheduled to be removed in a future release of SQL Server. So in short, Deprecated features should not be used in new applications’ development.

Discontinued Database Engine Functionality in SQL Server 2012
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144262%28SQL.110%29.aspx
Above link shows/lists the Data Engine features that are no longer available in Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Release Candidate 0 (RC 0).

Breaking Changes to Database Engine Features in SQL Server 2012
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143179%28SQL.110%29.aspx
This topic describes breaking changes in the Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Release Candidate 0 (RC 0) Database Engine and earlier versions of SQL Server. These changes might break applications, scripts, or functionalities that are based on earlier versions of SQL Server. You might encounter these issues when you upgrade. (Upgrade Advisor information is available here )

Behavior Changes to Database Engine Features in SQL Server 2012
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143359%28SQL.110%29.aspx
This link will explain, how behavior of SQL Engine changes or affect or how features work or interact in Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Release Candidate 0 (RC 0) as compared to earlier versions of SQL Server.

Full-Text Search Backward Compatibility
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143544%28SQL.110%29.aspx
This link will describe changes in the behavior of full-text search between earlier versions of SQL Server and Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Release Candidate 0 (RC 0).

I hope you will find this interesting.
Thanks, Khilit