Developer tools to directly access databases

Question

I work with several different databases and find myself trying connecting to these quite often to test a query. I use the database specific tools to connect to the DB and run the query.

I find these DB specific tools like SQL Query Analyzer (SQL-Server), Oracle Enterprise Manager, MySQL Query Browser to be quite clunky and slow when it comes to running quick queries and looking at data directly. It is also hard to remember all the userids and pwds for the develop and test databases.

What tools do you use as developers to connect to the database of choice? I use Eclipse as an IDE. So any Eclipse specific tips are also appreciated.

Even if a tool were to work with one DB and not with the other, I am willing to look into it if it were more user-friendly than the one the DB vendor provides. I am already using 3 different ones.

Answer 1

have a look at Rapid SQL

it is a cross-platform SQL IDE that helps database and application developers produce high quality SQL code faster.Embarcadero Rapid SQL helps you increase database development efficiency by:

Streamlining SQL coding tasks, object management, reverse-engineering, source code control and schema deployment

Improving team collaboration and resource sharing

Accelerating application development cycles with code assist, Quick Fixes, SQL to Java round-trip debugging, and profiling tools

Standardizing with one tool set with deep cross-DBMS platform support

Answer 2

I've used:

TOAD

DBVisualizer

I prefer DBVisualizer, but it's a bit of a memory hog so it might not be the right solution if your resources are an issue.

I've tried the eclipse plugins as well. For me I'd rather keep eclipse optimized to do the work it's meant to do.

Answer 3

SQuirreL, written in java, will work with any RDBMS for which there's a JDBC driver.

It works very well for both sending SQL, rendering result sets, and allowing browsing of database objects (from a tree). For severla RDBMS, it includes exteniosn to automatically generate common statements.]

Especially nice is that the query pane executes either the selected sql, or the line the the cursor is on up to the first blank line. This allows you to write several statements, and execute them either individual or in a batch.

And it's free and open source.

Answer 4

I've used quite a few.

• PL/SQL Developer: as the name implies this is Oracle specific but is by far my favourite DB tool. It greatly simplifies import/export;
• Toad: Also Oracle-specific. I used to be a big fan of this but it's expensive and I think more DBA-oriented these days. For a developer I don't think it offers all that much (given the price difference) over PL/SQL Developer;
• DBVisualizer: this tool isn't bad. I'm not sure the commercial version is worth the price they're asking for it. The free version is OK. It's good that it works with pretty much any database;
• Navicat for MySQL: it's OK but honestly I wouldn't pay for it;
• SQL Server management Studio: comes with SQL Server. I don't think I really need much more for SQL Server than this except perhaps a better way of importing/exporting databases, soemthing for which this is garbage;
• Oracle SQL Developer: this is the poor man's tool you use on Linux when you don't have much other choice. It's fairly basic but OK given that it's free.

Answer 5

Also a nice tool is the AquaDataStudio

Answer 6

Database Workbench can be use for Oracle - SQL Server and MySQL

http://www.upscene.com

Answer 7

When it comes to stuff like this, I prefer portable tools. Installed once, you can put them on flash or CD and carry with you. Connecting to DB should be easy as filling out usual fields: server, user, pwd..

Sql Buddy Decent one, open source, with syntax highlighting & code completition. Not recently updated but it generally works OK.

GiPo@DB Utilities Very nice one, has all of the above features plus its more feature filled as it was previously commercial.

Mentioned tools are not more then few MBs in size and it takes 1 minute to install them and copy them to your portable location.

Answer 8

Marie-Alix can be the right query tool for you, it can work with all kind of different Databases. some of the features :

• Get Data From Any Source: SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, CSV or fixed-width text files, XML files, ADOMD sources (cubes) or and many other OLEDB or ODBC-based data sources
• Filtering and grouping on the fly. No other grid offers such a dynamic, powerful, versatile yet simple to look at your data in so many different ways
• Relationships can be defined within the data. Entire hierarchies can quickly be created, and then an easy navigation enables moving up and down a hierarchy, focusing on the data you wish to work with
• Adding notes, highlights and bookmarks to your data

Answer 9

Within Eclipse you can use the Eclipse Data Tools Platform for doing database development. In recent versions you can find some kind of visual query builder as well. Oracle has a plugin for DTP and implements some Oracle-specific functions.

Answer 10

Aqua Data Studio and RapidSQL are two great tools/IDEs for sql development. You can connect almost any database engine and they include some vendor specific features for say Oracle etc..

Also since you use Eclipse IDE, you may consider Eclipse Data Tools Platform or QuantumDB plugin.

Answer 11

The tools depends a bit of the kind of work to do. For most browsing I go for DbVisualizer, I can customize it exactly to my needs. The support is good and responsive. For pl/sql editing I prefer oracle sqldeveloper. DbVisualizer is not a free tool but the price is fair, maybe even cheap when compared to Toad. It is also multi database but this is implemented in such a way that I am not limited in my oracle world and it helps me navigating on other vendor rdbms that I don't know so well. For real time monitoring DbVisualizer has a very nice option that I have not seen in any other application. VERY usable if you are trying to debug some, for example, performance problems.

Ronald

Answer 12

Check out RazorSQL. It has all the features of the most expensive tools at a fraction of the price.