matt wrote
hello, i am new to DNN and am planning to install it for a non-profit (if they like it, we will use cheap hosting someplace). the group will need some custom functionality, so it looks like ill be creating new modules for their specific needs. questions: 1) can i use the DNN database for my custom functionality? new tables, procs, etc.. 2) is there a practical difference between installing DNN w/ SQL Server 2005 vs Express? thanks! matt
Hi Matt and welcome to the world of DNN!
The answer to your first question is ABSOLUTELY! In fact it is much easier to put your tables in the same database as DNN. One thing to keep in mind is that when you name your database objects (i.e. tables and stored procedures) you need think about naming conflicts. The "standard" way to accomodate this is to name your tables with a prefix that will likely prevent any conflict. One can never be sure what other modules someone may install. Typically the prefix is a "Company Name"/"Module Name"/Table Name". For example, lets say your are writing a Billing module and you are going to use a "Clients" table in your module, and your company name is ABC Inc. The table name would be something like ABC_Billing_Clients. The stored procedures could be named like ABC_Billing_AddClient, ABC_Billing_UpdateClient, etc.
As for question #2, In my opinion it's only a matter of scalability and advanced features. If you are going to need advanced features like replication then you may need the full-blown edition of SQL Server. From a core functionality perspective including DNN requirements SQL Server Express more than fits the bill. My suggestions here would be to go to the Microsoft website and do a feature set comparison. That should tell you which version you need. Also, you may want to check on the licensing provisions.
[Moderator edit]
I hope at least some of this is helpful.
Chuck R.