Microsoft SQL Server Compact 3.5 supports querying its databases by using various query tools and APIs.

The topics in this section provide an overview of how to query SQL Server Compact 3.5 databases.

Section

Description

Using SQL Grammar

Describes how to use SQL syntax to query a database.

Using Query Tools (SQL Server Compact)

Explains the tools that can be used to query a SQL Server Compact 3.5 database: SQL Server Management Studio, SQL Server Compact 3.5 Query Analyzer, Visual Studio Server Explorer, Visual Studio Query Designer, and the Visual Studio Transact-SQL Editor.

Using Programming Interfaces

Describes the process of querying a database by using APIs.

The Transact-SQL Editor is supported for SQL Server Compact 3.5 databases beginning with Visual Studio 2010. Earlier versions of Visual Studio do not provide support for using the Transact-SQL Editor on SQL Server Compact databases. Visual Studio 2010 does not provide support for using the Transact-SQL Editor on databases created with earlier versions of SQL Server Compact.