Reap the Benefits of SQL Server's New Database Tuning Advisor

1. A GUI that practically drives itself
2. A command line interface with all its traditional gnarly-ness

The behavior under each interface is a little different. Using the command line, you can load arguments to the DTA utility with an XML file. The GUI does not provide the flexibility of XML to deliver startup information for analysis (but it can be imported and exported), nor does it allow you to ape a production instance from system tables. Instead, you can use the GUI to save a DTA session. In doing so, you create a skeletal XML file, which you can edit to add personal tuning enhancements to the session. This is analogous to using Profiler as a macro recorder; it enables you to watch the command syntax as it is generated, and learn how to do it from T-SQL instead of point-and-clicking.