Microsoft SQL Server forum

Author

isqlw.exe

nzanella@cs.mun.ca

2005-03-30, 7:04 pm

Hello,

I notice that the name of the Query Analyzer program (formerly
known as ISQL/W) is still isqlw.exe in SQL Server 2000. I am
curious as to where the name ISQL/W came from.

Feedback welcome,

Best Regards,

Neil

Craig Kelly

2005-03-30, 7:04 pm

<nzanella@cs.mun.ca> wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I notice that the name of the Query Analyzer program (formerly
> known as ISQL/W) is still isqlw.exe in SQL Server 2000. I am
> curious as to where the name ISQL/W came from.
>
> Feedback welcome,
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Neil

Neil,

It's always been my understanding that the "w" in isqlw stood for Windows:
isql was the original command line interface to SQL Server and isqlw was the
GUI "version" of the same concept.

Craig

Erland Sommarskog

2005-03-30, 7:04 pm

(nzanella@cs.mun.ca) writes:
> I notice that the name of the Query Analyzer program (formerly
> known as ISQL/W) is still isqlw.exe in SQL Server 2000. I am
> curious as to where the name ISQL/W came from.

In the begiinning there was Sybase, and their interactive interface to
SQL Server was ISQL - Interacticve SQL.

Microsoft teamed up with Sybase and supplied the Windows version of
SQL Server.

Later Microsoft cancelled the partnership with Sybase and the two
went on to develop SQL Server each on their own. Microsoft augmented
the toolset with a graphical interface and this was named ISQL/W,
where W certainly was for Windows. ISQL/W hung around until 6.5.

For SQL 7, Microsoft developed a new tool, the Query Analyzer with
richer set of functionality and which used ODBC to connect and not
DB-Library. For reasons unknown to me, the executable retained the
name isqlw.exe.

--
Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, esquel@sommarskog.se

Books Online for SQL Server SP3 at
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