SQL Server is constantly growing and changing, as are most database platforms. There are lots of platform changes, among them enhancements to the T-SQL language. Microsoft has added window functions, in-memory structures, the ability to execute code in other languages, and more. Some of these features are well built and some need more work. What's always interesting to me is what actually gets built and what doesn't.

There was an article recently on evaluating features in an RDBMS, and the article uses the JSON data type in Google's Big Query as an example. The evaluation is interesting, examining whether the feature actually helps the user, or if it is mostly marketing. In this case, the feature is outside of the "normal" conventions of the platform,  but it is useful.

Read the rest of The Usefulness of Database Features