Microsoft SQL Server File Format Documents

The Microsoft SQL Server File Format documents provide detailed technical specifications for certain Microsoft SQL Server file formats.

These documents are intended for use in conjunction with other Open Specifications documents, SQL Server Books Online content (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb545450.aspx), and publicly available standard specifications. They assume that the reader either is familiar with this material or has access to it. The SQL Server File Format documents provide the following levels of audience support:

Implementer: Information explaining various mechanisms by which user-created data in SQL Server can be extracted for use in other software products to facilitate interoperability.
Reviewer: A resource for readers who want to evaluate or get greater understanding of how Microsoft is approaching its implementation of data portability in Microsoft SQL Server.

Specification	Description
[MS-BCP]: Bulk Copy Format	Specifies the Bulk Copy (BCP) Format, a data structure format that specifies how different database data type values are stored in a data file for the purpose of exporting and importing large sets of values. Click here to view this version of the [MS-BCP] PDF.
[MS-CONNMGR]: Integration Services Connection Manager File Format	Specifies the SQL Server Integration Services connection manager file, which is a file type that is used to store the metadata for a project connection manager. Click here to view this version of the [MS-CONNMGR] PDF.
[MS-CSDLBI]: Conceptual Schema Definition File Format with Business Intelligence Annotations	Specifies the structure and semantics of conceptual schema definition language (CSDL) annotations that are used in business intelligence (BI) applications. Click here to view this version of the [MS-CSDLBI] PDF.
[MS-DACPAC]: Data-Tier Application Schema File Format	Specifies the file format of XML parts in a data-tier application (DAC) package (a .dacpac file) by using XML schema definitions. Click here to view this version of the [MS-DACPAC] PDF.
[MS-DTS]: Data Transformation Services Package File Format	Specifies the Data Transformation Services (DTS) package file format, which is the file format that is used to write to and read from a DTS package file. The DTS package file format is used to persist DTS packages in the Windows file system. Click here to view this version of the [MS-DTS] PDF.
[MS-DTSX]: Data Transformation Services Package XML File Format	Specifies the Data Transformation Services Package File Format (DTSX), which is an XML-based file format that stores the instructions for the processing of a data flow from its points of origin to its points of destination, including transformations and optional processing steps between the origin and destination points. Click here to view this version of the [MS-DTSX] PDF.
[MS-DTSX2]: Data Transformation Services Package XML Version 2 File Format	Specifies version 2 of the Data Transformation Services Package File Format (DTSX), which is an XML-based file format that stores the instructions for the processing of a data flow from its points of origin to its points of destination, including transformations and optional processing steps between the origin and destination points. Click here to view this version of the [MS-DTSX2] PDF.
[MS-ISPAC]: Integration Services Project Deployment File Format	Specifies the file format for the Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services project deployment file, which is a file type that is used to represent the packaged metadata of a data integration project. Click here to view this version of the [MS-ISPAC] PDF.
[MS-MSL]: Mapping Specification Language File Format	Specifies the file format of the mapping specification language (MSL) for the Entity Data Model (EDM) version 2.0. MSL is an XML-based language that can be used to define mapping between a conceptual schema and a store schema. Click here to view this version of the [MS-MSL] PDF.
[MS-RDL]: Report Definition Language File Format	Specifies the file format for Microsoft SQL Server Report Definition Language (RDL), a file type that is used to represent the metadata for defining a report. Click here to view this version of the [MS-RDL] PDF.
[MS-RDLRS]: Report Definition Language Report State File Format	Specifies the file format for Report State. A Report State document represents the metadata for defining filters in a report that is in Report Definition Language (RDL) file format and storing information about interactions with those filters. Click here to view this version of the [MS-RDLRS] PDF.
[MS-SMDL]: Semantic Model Definition Language File Format	Specifies the file format for Microsoft SQL Server Semantic Model Definition Language (SMDL), a file type that is used to represent the metadata for defining a semantic model. Click here to view this version of the [MS-SMDL] PDF.
[MS-SSDL]: Store Schema Definition Language File Format	Specifies the structure and semantics of the store schema definition language (SSDL) for the Entity Data Model (EDM). SSDL is a language based on XML that can be used for defining storage models by using the EDM. Click here to view this version of the [MS-SSDL] PDF.
[MS-SSISPARAMS]: Integration Services Project Parameter File Format	Specifies the SQL Server Integration Services project parameter file, which is a file type that is used to store the metadata for a project connection manager. Click here to view this version of the [MS-SSISPARAMS] PDF.