Microsoft’s Francois Ajenstat says SQL Server 2008 will not be released until Q3 2008. He calls this “roadmap clarification”, Microsoft-speak for what most of us call a delay.

It’s embarrassing for the company, since SQL Server 2008 “launches” on 27th February, less than one month from today. What will actually launch is a feature-complete CTP (Community Tech Preview). Since Q3 can(and often does) mean September, there may be over six months between the launch and the release. It is an extraordinary stretch, especially since Visual Studio 2008, which has been available since late last year, “launches” on the same day.

Still, let’s look on the bright side. First, late releases are better than buggy releases; and the SQL Server team has a good record. Second, at least Microsoft has managed to control the dependencies so that it possible to stagger the releases without anything breaking (one presumes).