SQL-Programmer is a dedicated SQL development tool for Oracle, Sybase, and MS SQL Server.  This tool is a must see for anyone doing serious database development.   SQL-Programmer  packs a lot of power, stability, and can scale to accommodate large numbers of objects.  The features have been well thought out and come from many years of real world database development.  SQL-Programmer contains many small features that simply do not exist in any other tool I have come across.  As a quick highlight some of these are full syntax checking before replacing an object, report generation engine, the ability to store frequently used objects, scripts, and templates on your server as non-executable objects, interfaces to the most popular source code control tools on the market, its own source code control if you don't already have one, drag-and-drop support, and personal working folders.  I'll touch on most of these in detail later on.  This product would definitely get a buy recommendation from me simply on the strength of the debugger.

There are two main competitors for SQL development tools: RapidSQL and SQL-Programmer.   One of the main differences is methodology.  RapidSQL can work disconnected from a database.  SQL-Programmer requires a connection to a database in order to function.  This used to be a drawback, but I can now carry a 7.0 server on any 32-bit Windows platform.  Because of the ability to have a SQL Server running on any 32 bit Windows platform, this difference is a wash at this point.  That leaves you making a feature-by-feature comparison with respect to the way that you work and the features that are important to you.

SQL-Programmer consists of the core product plus 3 add on modules: SQL-Documenter, SQL-Scripter, and Transact-SQL Debugger.  Within the core product are 2 main objects where you will do most of your work. Each has a particular focus and understanding that can greatly enhance your development efforts.

Upon first starting SQL-Programmer, you will be prompted to connect to a server.   There are two enhancements in this version.  You can create profiles and then reuse those profiles to simplify connecting.  These profiles can be named anything you like and can contain the server name, DBMS type, login ID, password, and a filter.   Profiles are automatically created matching the server name if you don't explicitly create one.  The filtering feature gives you the ability to filter out specific objects and also by name to help target your efforts.  Normally you will connect to one server, but SQL-Programmer has the ability to connect to more than one server which can come in very handy with some of the features to be discussed later.  To be able to connect to more than one server without having to reopen the connection dialog, clear the Enable Single Logon in the lower left corner.

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