The next two sections are about JSON and Temporal Tables.

These two topics are required for the 70-761 certification, which is based on SQL Server 2016.

If you want to learn the 70-461 certification, which is based on SQL Server 2012/2014, then please skip these sections and go on to Section 7.

If you want to follow along on your own computer, then you will need SQL Server 2016 or above, and your database will need a compatibility level of 130 or more.

To check the compatibility level of your database, please enter:

SELECT compatibility_level FROM sys.databases
where [name] = DB_NAME();

If you have a compatibility level of 130, then you are all set.

If not, to change the compatibility level of your database to level 130, in the following code, please change XXXXX to the name of your database:

ALTER DATABASE [XXXXX] 
SET COMPATIBILITY_LEVEL = 130;
GO

If you want more information about the different compatibility levels, please click here.