SQL Server Express LocalDB

SQL Server Express LocalDB
Database background

LocalDB is a lightweight version of the SQL Server Express Database Engine created specifically for developers. It starts on demand and runs in user mode, so there is no complex configuration. By default, LocalDB databases create .mdf files in the C:/Users/<user> directory.

Developers for whom LocalDB is enough don't need to install and manage a full instance of SQL Server Express. It offers T-SQL like standard SQL Server does and is a good embedded database. It doesn't create Windows services at all; LocalDB processes are started and stopped as needed.

SQL Express LocalDB can be considered as the next logical step from SQL Server Compact (SQLCE) when you need a truly powerful embedded database.

SQL Server Express LocalDB data types we support

Integral:
bigintintsmallinttinyint
Decimal:
decimal (numeric)doublefloat (real)moneysmallmoney
Text:
charncharntextnvarchar (sysname)nvarchar(max)textvarcharvarchar(max)
Binary:
binarybittimestampvarbinary
Date/Time:
datedatetimedatetime2datetimeoffsetsmalldatetimetime
Large objects:
geographygeometryimagentextnvarchar(max)textvarbinary(max)varchar(max)xml
Other:
dynamicobjecthierarchyidsql_varianttableuniqueidentifier