SQL Server 2019 introduced significant updates focused on data intelligence and platform flexibility:

Includes Big Data Clusters for integrated Apache Spark and HDFS support, Intelligent Query Processing (IQP), and Data Virtualization to query external sources like Oracle or MongoDB via PolyBase. Licensing and Usage Constraints

Unlike the free , which has strict hardware and database size limits, the Developer Edition includes all high-performance and mission-critical capabilities found in the Enterprise tier.