How are you generating test data?

Question

I saw this question about large datasets and it prompted me to ask how (or if) people are generating test data for themselves. One of the answers mentioned Visual Studio for Database Professionals and a product from Red Gate (SQL Data Generator as it turns out). I came across generatedata.com yesterday. Are there any other tools people are using that they've had a lot of success with?

Answer 1

I have used DBMonster with good success.

Answer 2

I wrote a shell-script, that took a file with some real data, modified in loop some fields and inserted it to the database. That way I could insert millions of different SQL-rows that look mostly like data generated by real work.

Answer 3

In most situations, I just generate it in excel, then generate inserts.

It's dead simple & I can generate the type of data I might expect. The downside is 'it generates data I expect'. But it ussually works for me.