I’ve been working with SQL Server for a long time. I love it but it has its downsides too and a while ago I realized I was spending an awful lot of time writing T-SQL Code. And sometimes it literally was awful because there were no tools to help me.

That irritated me because there were code-proofing tools available for C++, Delphi, even Borland Pascal. So I did what a lot of programmers would do: I sat down to create my own tool and make it available free to the community.

In February 2014, a lot of time and effort paid off when I launched the first version of SQL Code Guard, a tool for finding code issues in an entire SQL Server database, or a query window.

At the time, Redgate provided a SQL Server Management Studio ecosystem framework that helped me integrate SQL Code Guard into many versions of SSMS, saving me a ton of work, and since then Redgate have helped me in other ways on my journey.

SSMS 2016 changed things, though, because Microsoft modified the underlying Visual Studio shell, making the transition of SQL Code Guard to the new version a much, much bigger piece of work. SSMS 2016 was now offered by Microsoft as a free download with backward compatibility to SQL Server 2008, so I was getting increasing user requests to support it. However, I was struggling to find the time needed to port SQL Code Guard to the new platform.

Fortunately, Redgate stepped in to put more resources behind it. They’ve acquired SQL Code Guard to add its static code analysis functionality to their existing tools like SQL Prompt and SQL Monitor, but they’re keeping it as a free tool for personal and non-commercial use. I’ll continue working on it, but this time with the added resources of Redgate to help me.

This way, everyone gains.

SQL Prompt is Redgate’s popular tool for writing, formatting, refactoring, and sharing SQL. Adding static code analysis is the logical next step in the tool’s development and we’ve worked closely together to make it as comprehensive as it can be.

SQL Monitor is a SQL Server monitoring and alerting tool. If it picks out a particular query that’s affecting server performance, SQL Code Guard will highlight any potential concerns with the query so that the performance issue can be resolved faster.

Redgate have also helped in the development of SQL Code Guard v3, the preview of which launches today. It’s a more stable build with full SSMS 2016 integration, and deeper explanations are being added to the library of rules to make them easier to understand and resolve. We’re now looking at other areas like integrating with SSMS 2017 and adding Visual Studio extensions.

These are exciting times for SQL Code Guard. I’m really looking forward to it featuring inside SQL Prompt and SQL Monitor, and to seeing what we can do next for the free community edition of the tool.

If you have any suggestions for what you’d like to see next in SQL Code Guard, let me know.