Azure SQL Dev Corner
Voices from the Azure SQL PM Team, focusing on development and developers
Latest posts
What questions will you ask your data agent?
Data API builder (DAB) 1.7+ delivers secure MCP-based CRUD access with deterministic, policy-enforced query generation and an upcoming aggregate tool that enables complex, production-safe analytical questions without exposing raw SQL to AI agents.
The Polyglot Tax
Part 1 of 4 - The Multimodal Database Series This is a four-part series about what happens when a single database engine handles relational, document, graph, vector, and analytical workloads natively - and what you stop paying for when it does. You spin up a database, point an agent at it, and start building. The first few tables go fast - users, orders, maybe a product catalog. The agent writes your CRUD, wires up the API, and you have a working prototype by lunch. Then the requirements come in. The product team wants semantic search. The fraud team needs to trace connections between accounts. Marketing wan...
MSSQL Extension for VS Code: Query Profiler, ADS Migration Toolkit & More
The MSSQL Extension for VS Code continues to evolve, delivering features that make SQL development more integrated, more powerful, and more developer-friendly. In version v1.40.0, we're introducing the ADS Migration Toolkit, Basic Database Management, Flat File Import, Database Backup & Restore, Database Object Search, and Query Profiler — six capabilities that bring seamless Azure Data Studio migration, essential database operations, and real-time performance monitoring directly into your development workflow inside Visual Studio Code. What’s new in MSSQL extension for VS Code v1.40 https://www.youtube.com...
Light up Multiple Databases with a Single API with Data API builder’s multi-source configuration
Data API builder (DAB) supports multi-source configurations Data API builder (DAB) connects to your database with a safe REST or GraphQL endpoint. But DAB is not limited to just one database. Using a multi-source configuration, you can connect to more than one database simultaneously. Learn more about Data API builder: https://aka.ms/dab/docs Multi-source configuration A multi-source configuration is one of DAB's most powerful features. There is no special requirement other than a valid connection string. This lets multiple databases take advantage of a single instance of DAB with REST and GraphQL, but al...
Federating Databases with Data API Builder Chaining
For decades, DBAs relied on linked servers to stitch data together. If you needed data from two places, you wired them up and moved on. It worked. It was straightforward. It felt native to SQL. But what if linked servers are not an option? What if policy blocks them? What if one of the systems is not SQL or lives in another cloud? How do you cross engines, environments, and ownership boundaries without turning your architecture into a science project? In most modern enterprises, the limitation is not SQL. It is usually more hidden things like governance, separation of duties, or risk management policy. Applicat...
Dear Copilot, can you help me with SQL?
Perhaps we missed it at first, but Copilot is more than comfortable with SQL. This goes beyond autocomplete. This is moving from nothing to a working database without leaving our tools. Have we really arrived? Yes, sort of. For database engineers and app engineers alike, we have crossed an important line. Making us more productive is easy for Copilot. Modern developers already lean on these models. Making Copilot productive is the real unlock. From schema design to publishing in Azure, the question is not whether Copilot can help, but how we 10x Copilot. Walking through a common workflow, this article makes few ...
Build Intelligent Apps with SQL: Join the SQL + AI Datathon
The SQL + AI Datathon is a hands‑on challenge designed to show how the foundations for building modern, intelligent applications with SQL. Over a set of guided missions and a focused open hack, you’ll learn how to combine SQL with embeddings, semantic search, and Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) to build real AI‑powered experiences. The SQL + AI Datathon puts SQL at the center of the architecture. You’ll learn how to: Who Should Participate? The SQL + AI Datathon is designed for: Learn Along the Way with the Reactor Series To help you succeed, the Datathon i...
Time Travel in Azure SQL with Temporal Tables
Applications often need to know what data looked like before. Who changed it, when it changed, and what the previous values were. Rebuilding that history in application code is tedious and error prone. This is especially valuable when exposing a database to an AI agent through MCP servers like SQL MCP Server, where information discovery matters. Learn more about SQL MCP Server at https://aka.ms/sql/mcp Azure SQL includes a built in feature that tracks row history automatically. Temporal tables let the database keep a full change history without triggers, audit tables, or custom logic. Working demo https...
Masking Sensitive Data in Azure SQL
Applications often need access to data without needing access to everything. Social Security numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers are common examples. Storing them is required. Exposing them broadly is not. This is especially valuable when exposing a database to an AI agent through MCP servers like SQL MCP Server, where safety and reversibility matter. Learn more about SQL MCP Server Azure SQL includes built-in features that let the database protect sensitive values automatically. The application does not decide what is visible. The database does. Working demo https://gist.github.com What We Ar...