Vlad Drumea builds a local version of Azure SQL Database:
Microsoft has recently released in private preview (at the time of writing) the Azure SQL Database container image.
This is Microsoft’s solution for folks who want to build and test Azure SQL DB native software without having to incur additional Azure costs just for dev/test/demo work.This provides a local option for developers who want to work on products that require Azure SQL DB’s specific developer surface: T-SQL, drivers, and engine behavior.
Click through to see how this works. As of right now, you’ll need to be in the private preview, but I imagine things won’t change significantly once they move to public preview.