Chinook Database is now available on NuGet

Chinook sample database is now available on NuGet. There are 3 packages available: 

• Chinook Database SQL Scripts: contains the SQL scripts for all supported databases (SQL Server, SQL Server Compact Edition, SQLite, Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, DB2 and EffiProz. In addition, it also contains batch files to run these scripts with the respective command prompt tools.
• Chinook Database for SQLite: contains a SQLite file with the Chinook database.
• Chinook Database for SQL Server Compact 4.0: contains a SQL Compact 4.0 file with the Chinook database.

You can install the Chinook database within Visual Studio using the following instructions and searching for 'Chinook':

For now on, new releases will be available on Codeplex download page and also on Nuget.

Enjoy!

Chinook Sample Database 1.4 Released

The Chinook Database is a sample database available for multiple database systems. It can be created by running a single SQL script. Chinook database is an alternative to the Northwind database, being ideal for demos and testing ORM tools targeting single and multiple database servers.

The Chinook Database represents a media store, including tables for artists, albums, media tracks, invoices and customers. The media information was generated from my iTunes library file, but anyone can download its source code and use their own iTunes library information. The sales information is auto-generated for a 4 years period. You can see the Chinook data model here.

This new version includes support for DB2 and PostgreSQL. Thanks to @brice_lambson for implementing the PostgreSQL support! Chinook database is available for:

• DB2 (new)
• EffiProz
• MySQL
• Oracle
• PostgreSQL (new)
• SQL Server
• SQL Server Compact
• SQLite

You can download the latest release from here. There are available SQL scripts for each database system and also embedded database files for SQL Server Compact and SQLite.

Chinook Sample Database 1.3 Released

The Chinook Database is a sample database available for multiple database systems. It can be created by running a single SQL script. Chinook database is an alternative to the Northwind database, being ideal for demos and testing ORM tools targeting single and multiple database servers.


The Chinook Database represents a media store, including tables for artists, albums, media tracks, invoices and customers. The media information was generated from my iTunes library file, but anyone can download its source code and use their own iTunes library information. The sales information is auto-generated for a 4 years period. You can see the Chinook data model here.


This new version includes support for SQLite and EffiProz. EffiProz is a cross-platform embedded database written entirely in C#. Chinook database is available for:

• EffiProz
• MySQL
• Oracle
• SQL Server
• SQL Server Compact
• SQLite

You can download the latest release from here. There are available SQL scripts for each database system and also embedded database files for SQL Server Compact and SQLite.

Chinook Database 1.1 Released

I just released a new version of the Chinook Database. Chinook Database is a sample database that represents a digital media store, like iTunes, including information of artists, albums, tracks, media type, invoices, customers, etc. The media information was imported from my iTunes library, the customer/employee info was created manually, and the sales info is auto-generated for a 4 years period.

It supports Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server and SQL Server Compact. The database can be created by running a single SQL script. It is also provided as an XML file and a SQL Server Compact database. It is possible to use your own iTunes library information to regenerate these scripts, see more details here.

The SQL scripts and unit tests are auto-generated using T4 templates by reading the tables information defined in an XML schema.

The new changes for the release 1.1 are:

• Support for SQL Server Compact.
• Additional customers from multiple countries.
• Added a many-to-many relationship (a Playlist contains many Tracks, a Track belongs to many Playlists).
• Added a one-to-many relationship between Employee and Customer (support representative).
• Added Total field to invoice table.

I also created more unit tests to validate the data created in the database after running the SQL scripts.

The new schema is:



You can download this new version from the Chinook Database 1.1 Release page.

Upgrading to SQL Server 2008 Express and Management Studio Express 2008

In my developer machine, I have Visual Studio 2008 Professional which comes with SQL Server Express 2005. I decided to upgrade to SQL Server Express 2008 and also use the new Management Studio Express 2008.

For the 2005 versions, we have two separate installers: one for SQL Express and another one for Management Studio Express. For the 2008 version, these products are deployed in the same installer: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools. Lots of people are complaining that they cannot get the Management Studio installed (see discussion here), but the trick is to run the installer twice: first run to upgrade to SQL Express 2008, and the second run to add features to the current installation (Management Tools - Basic). The main steps of this installation are:

1. Download the installer from Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools and run it.

2. In the Installation screen, select Upgrade from SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005, and just follow the next screens. During the upgrade, it is not possible to select new features to be added (Management Tools), so you will have to run this installer again later to add the management tools.



3. After the installation is completed, close the SQL Server Installation Center if it is still open. Then run again the same installer that you downloaded on step 1, in my case SQLEXPRWT_x86_ENU.exe.

4. In the Installation screen, select New SQL Server stand-alonegrade from SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005, and just follow the next screens.



5. In the SQL Server 2008 Setup - Installation Type screen, select Add features to an existing instance of SQL Server 2008, and click on Next.



6. In the SQL Server 2008 Setup - Feature Selection screen, select Management Tools - Basic, and click on Next, and just follow all the remaining screens.



When installation finishes, you will be able to access Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio from Start/Programs/Microsoft SQL Server 2008 menu, or by just running ssms.exe.

During the installation, the Setup Support Rules screen showed all the time. I understand their concern to verify that we meet all the installation requirements, but they should show this screen only if we fail in meeting some requirements, otherwise it becomes annoying.

How I added the words Oracle and MySQL to the SQL Server Developer website

No, I am not a hacker or either have access to the source of SQL Server Developer page. I just created a project in Codeplex, the Chinook Database, and tagged it with SQL Server. The SQL Server Developer page has a section at the bottom with recent SQL Server projects, and my new project is displayed there.

The result: the SQL Server Developer website has the words Oracle and MySQL!!



The Chinook Database project description contains the supported databases, and they all show on the SQL Server Developer page. Sorry Microsoft, this was not intentional but it was funny to accidently have the words Oracle and MySQL in SQL Server website.

Chinook Sample Database is Alive!

During the past two weeks, I've been working on a sample database in order to test ORM tools and make a quick demos. The idea is to have a simple database that can be created by a single script, and provide versions of this script for more than one database server: SQL Server, Oracle and MySQL.

With this idea in mind, I created the Chinook Database in Codeplex. Its first release is available here. I will be using it in order to create some tests for the other project I am working on, the Repository Factory, which supports SQL Server and Oracle. Having the same sample database for different servers, make testing the Repository Factory easier since unit tests can be common.

The Chinook Database represents a media store, digital media store, including tables for artists, albums, media tracks, invoices and customers. The media information was generated from my iTunes library file, but anyone can download its source code and use their own iTunes information. The sales information is random generated for a 4 years period.

I will be working on adding more customers to it. I just added a few so far, but with address that can be located by Google maps, and probably by other map engines. The idea is to have customers from different countries and address formats. So far, we only have for Canada, USA, and Brazil, but more to come.

I hope this database will be useful for other folks and I will keep updating it constantly.

Enjoy it!