Replacing MS Query Analyzer / Management Studio?
I've been using SQL Server since version 6.5, and I've always been a little overwhelmed by the fact that the tools seem to be aimed at DBAs and not developers. I liked the simplicity and speed of the query parser, for example, but hated the built-in editor, which wasn't really any better than the Notepad-enabled coloring syntax. Now that we have Management Studio, the management part looks a little better, but from a developer's perspective, the tools are even worse. Visual Studio is a great text editor ... no way to configure keyboard bindings !? Don't make me start with how unsuitable a tree-based management hierarchy is. Why can't I restore the tree in the list of stored procedures, like the way Enterprise Manager resolved it? Now I have a tree that needs to be scrolled horizontally,making it extremely useless.
The SQL Server support in Visual Studio is useful for working with stored procedures and functions, but it's awful like a normal ad-hoc data query tool.
I've tried various tools over the years, but invariably they seem to focus on the management side and change the developer in me. I just want something with basic admin capabilities, good keyboard support, and the necessary DDL functionality (ideally something like Query Analyzer). At the moment I am seriously considering using vim + sqlcmd and the console ... I am desperate :)
For those of you who work day in and day out with SQL Server and Visual Studio ... do you find the tools to be adequate? Have you ever wanted them to be better, and if you found something better, could you please share it?
Thank!
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I myself am sticking to using SSMS as a database developer extended with SQL query and SQL search, in my opinion it is really good.
Alternatives are plentiful - I've never been able to grab any of these, but you can find one that suits your style and needs!
And if you are looking for any particular item or SSMS add-on, this appears to be the definitive list of SQL Server tools - not sure how current and up-to-date this post is, from November 2007 - but it might be helpful, however less:
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A colleague of mine swears at the SQuirreL SQL client at http://squirrel-sql.sourceforge.net . It's open source, works with many different types of databases, and looks like it has good features. This sounds like something you might be interested in.
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For ad-hoc queries, have you tried LINQPad ? It targets .NET, so it might not work for you.
I work day by day using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and Visual Studio. However, we usually use SQL statements to support the schema instead of the UI tool. Some of the benefits of using prompts to maintain schema allow prompts to be validated in original control and reused in installers. Therefore, if you come across any random SQL execution tool, you can use it to save the schema.
We also use queries to support our SQL Server Agent jobs.
I also use SSMS Activity Monitor on a daily basis. This is nice, although I would like it to be able to export and load its data.
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