The Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000) is a data engine built and based on core SQL Server technology. With support for single- and dual-processor desktop computers, MSDE 2000 is a reliable storage engine and query processor for desktop extensions of enterprise applications.
The common technology base shared between SQL Server and MSDE 2000 enables developers to build applications that can scale seamlessly from portable computers to multiprocessor clusters.

Designed to run in the background, supporting transactional desktop applications, MSDE 2000 does not have its own user interface (UI) or tools. Users interact with MSDE 2000 through the application in which it is embedded.
MSDE 2000 is packaged in a self-extracting archive for ease of distribution and embedding.

In addition, MSDE 2000 can be built into applications and redistributed royalty-free with Microsoft development tools, such as Microsoft Visual Studio« .NET and Microsoft Office XP Developer Edition. This allows developers to build enterprise-class reliability and advanced database features into their desktop applications.

MSDE 2000 is a royalty-free, redistributable database engine that is fully compatible with SQL Server. MSDE 2000 is designed to run on

• Microsoft Windows 98,
• Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me),
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 (with Service Pack 5 or later), and
• Windows 2000 Professional

Because it is fully compatible with other editions of SQL Server, developers can easily target both SQL Server and MSDE 2000 with the same core code base. This provides a seamless upgrade path from MSDE 2000 to SQL Server if an application grows beyond the storage and scaleability limits of MSDE 2000.