Did anyone come across a free data generator that ca create synthetic data to load into databases for testing purposes?
A:
As you know your data better than anyone outside your organization, you would probably get the best results by writing code yourself to do this. It would be fairly straightforward to write a small program in C#, Python, etc to generate test data.
Justin Ethier
2009-12-06 17:23:47
A:
You could take a look at my FOSS data generator - this is kind of a proof of concept at the moment, but is useable.
anon
2009-12-06 17:24:13
A:
I have tried and used the Redgate tool, it is part of the Redgate Toolbelt bundle, and I can recommend it. Very nice tool with lots of possibilities. It however costs money as peacedog pointed out, if you are doing database development on consistent basis it is very much worth it.
bjorsig
2009-12-06 22:30:19
It looks like it works only with Microsoft SQL Server.
uthark
2010-03-15 09:28:38
@uthark ~ I didn't think RedGate made any bones about being a Microsoft oriented shop ... Besides, what's the problem with MSSQL? Cheaper than Oracle, found in lots of shops...
drachenstern
2010-09-03 16:50:01
@drachenstern - I use MySQL and PostgreSQL at work a lot.
uthark
2010-09-04 10:12:16
@uthark ~ I had surmised that from your comment.
drachenstern
2010-09-04 14:35:11
A:
I don't know of any free products to recommend, but if you are willing to purchase a commercial license, I can recommend ExactData's Dynamic Data Generator. It attempts to produce large scale, synthetic, realistic, and engineered data sets. It allows you to model the data sets for your tests, customize the output format (CSV, for instance), and then generate an large numbers of internally consistent data records.
I can recommend the DDG because I am a developer on this product.
gap
2010-09-03 16:47:53