SQL Server Modeling November CTP Installation Problems

I had problems installing the "Oslo" November 2009 CTP, some of the Domains were not installed correctly.


First problem was due to the fact that I was using local SQL Server Express 2008.
I fixed this by manually installing domains after the installation.

1. Open the "Microsoft SQL Server Modeling CTP Command Prompt" (Start -> Programs -> Microsoft SQL Server Modeling CTP)
2. Install each of the missing domains by using mx tool. Type mx install Microsoft.Uml2.mx /server:.\sqlexpress /database:Repository /property:RepositoryChangeTracking=+ 
3. It helped to explicitly use "/server:.\sqlexpress" for database server name
4. Use this to install all of the missing domains by replacing the above "Microsoft.Uml2.mx" with appropriate .mx file. I've installed System.Runtime.mx, System.Identity.mx, and Microsoft.Uml2.mx this way.

Also, I received timeout while trying to run these commands. It was due to problems with login. In my case, it helped to add /t:Integrated as a final option in the above commands.

And, while trying to install the UML domain (Microsoft.Uml2.mx), I received error that is also mentioned in the Readme.htm file:

catalogentries.sql(43837,1): error M6040: Sql Exception: There is insufficient system memory in resource pool 'internal' to run this query.

This was caused by the fact that my machine (virtual machine) had 1GB RAM. Increasing RAM to 2GB on the machine helped to solve the problem.

Hope some of this will be helpful to you.

Journey ended, a new one begins

Few days ago I wrote in my previous post that my impression from the PDC2008, especially while talking with development team, that Microsoft is not quite sure what to do with "Oslo".
In yesterday's post on his blog, Douglas Purdy writes that "Oslo" will be shipped as "SQL Server Modeling", as part of the releases of SQL Server.
Here's a quote:

"The components of the SQL Server Modeling CTP are:

• “M” is a highly productive, developer friendly, textual language for defining schemas, queries, values, functions and DSLs for SQL Server databases
• “Quadrant” is a customizable tool for interacting with large datasets stored in SQL Server databases
• “Repository” is a SQL Server role for the the secure sharing of models between applications and systems

We will announce the official names for these components as we land them, but the key thing is that all of these components are now part of SQL Server and will ship with a future release of that product."

So, it seems that journey to "Oslo" as a "homeless", "general purpose" modeling platform has ended and it has found its "foster home" in MS SQL Server product. Nevertheless, I still like it.

Journey to "Oslo"

First time I heard of Microsoft's "Oslo" was last year while making final arrangements with my colleagues for attending the PDC 2008. My two colleagues and I were strongly recommended the "Oslo": Building textual DSLs session by our company's Chief Software Architect. Before that, I've learned a little bit about DSLs by reading some of the chapters of Martin Fowler's DSL Book WIP (work in progress). I liked the idea of DSLs very much and was eager to see and attend all of the PDC 2008 "Oslo" sessions.

I attended three of the "Oslo" sessions then and also talked with development team at "Ask-the-experts" night (Chris Andersen and Doug Purdy were present, too). My strong impression was that it is definitely a powerful concept and it is worth learning, but I didn't not get a clear idea of how to put all this into a working business application. I also asked some of the "Oslo" team members during "Ask-the-experts" nights about intended use and whether Microsoft will build some DSLs for common domains like finance, insurance, etc., but answer I got was that "developer's community" is expected to build DSLs. All in all, I left L.A. a bit confused about "M" and "Oslo", but still with strong interest in the technology.

A year had passed since and I didn't follow "Oslo" related news really, until yesterday I read this article by Kraig Brockschmidt. After reading the article I've finally decided to try and learn "Oslo", build a simple DSL, build a runtime for it and execute an application.

The aspects I'm really interested with "Oslo" are:

• Ease of model use in .NET applications
• Ease of reuse of models/DSLs
• Flexibility, change management, model extensions, etc.
• How will this increase developer productivity?