Red Gate releases new version of simple, $295 tool for comparing & synching SQL databases

BARCELONA, Spain, 2 July 2002 – Red Gate Software has released a new and improved version of SQL Compare, a simple $295 software tool for comparing and synchronizing SQL 7 and SQL 2000 database structures.

SQL Compare 2.0.1 features increased speed and better support for data-type changes, dependencies and SQL 2000 features such as view triggers and indexes.

"The new version is not about features, but methods of making SQL Compare smoother and simpler to use," says Neil Davidson, Red Gate Software's Technical Director. "Too often, features get in the way of what the user is trying to achieve. We're all about developing simple tools for complex problems."

Beyond pen and paper comparison

SQL Compare 2.0.1 addresses a common problem: Traditionally, developers create a separate script for every database object change. The script is used to push the change to the production database. But developers are notoriously bad at documenting changes with scripts. If they are done at all, the scripts are often incomplete, untested and buggy. The usual way to find problems between two databases is to go through manually and note differences with pen and paper – a time-consuming, frustrating and unreliable process.

SQL Compare replaces the complex scripting, comparison and synchronization process with an easy and reliable method. The software is run after all the database changes are made. It graphically displays the differences between the development and production databases, and automatically creates a script to migrate from one to the other. It compares and synchronizes all elements of the database, including tables, views, stored procedures, permissions, user-defined functions, triggers, users, roles, rules, defaults and user-defined types.

"Before SQL Compare we used to print out object definitions from both databases to be compared and eyeball the differences," says Janine Bocciardi, a database administrator with Real Consulting LLC, a California firm that writes software and maintains databases for clients in the insurance industry. "SQL Compare shows us the two databases side by side, with color lines that graphically display the differences. It saves us about 20 minutes for each object change."

SQL Compare also helps Real Consulting do complete comparisons before moving databases into production. "If anything goes wrong, we can catch it before we're into the production push," says Bocciardi. "It gives you peace of mind to know everything is in order."

From three weeks to three days

Ronald Nooner, a senior systems integration analyst with the Idaho State Department of Labor, says that SQL Compare has helped the department get its development, test and production databases completely in synch for the first time in 2½ years.

"We were able to do the necessary comparisons and run the scripts in about three days to synch our entire database," says Nooner. "This used to take two to three weeks before."

Both Bocciardi and Nooner say they never had to look at the Help file in installing and using SQL Compare. "It's really simple and incredibly inexpensive," says Bocciardi.

Redefining the job

Neil Davidson's favorite anecdote about SQL Compare's simplicity and usefulness comes from a customer who approached him at a trade show and joked, "My job used to consist almost entirely of comparing SQL databases by hand. Now that I've started using SQL Compare I've bought a pair of glasses, painted on eyes, and now spend much of my day snoozing."

SQL Compare is available for $295 as a stand-alone product. It is also available as part of a bundled package that includes SQL Data Compare, which compares and synchronizes the contents of Microsoft SQL Server databases, and DTS Compare, which compares SQL Servers. Red Gate Software products can be purchased directly from the company's website at www.red-gate.com.

Red Gate Software makes simple software that solves complex problems for developers and testers. The company is a Microsoft Gold Visual Studio .NET launch partner and a VSIP partner. Other developer and tester tools by Red Gate include ANTS for load-testing and code profiling .NET applications.

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Press Contacts: Kathleen Wheatley, Bob Cramblitt
Cramblitt & Company
tel. 919-481-4599
cramco@cramco.com

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