Creating SQL Server 2000 database using SQL Server 2008

Question

My development machine has SQL Server 2008 Developer edition on it. A production server I am going to do some development for has SQL Server 2000 on it. Is there a way to create a 2000 database using my 2008 developer edition? Or do I need to create it on the 2000 server and move it to my development machine?

Answer 1

It will not be possible to move the development database into production. Once a database file has been upgraded to the SQL 2008 format, it is impossible to downgrade to SQL 2000 format.

You should focus your development on creating T-SQL scripts instead of creating database objects. This includes initial database creation and any subsequent schema changes. Perhaps you can use a version based approach for your schema and catalog data. As long as you don't use any SQL 2008 specific functionality, the scripts will run fine on SQL 2000.

Setting the db compatibility level to 80 on development will help making the behavior of the 2008 server closer to the 2000 server, but it does not mean the 2008 specific features will not be usable. You have to pay attention and make sure every functionality and feature you use in development will also be available in SQL 2000.