How to compare two different databases
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Hi All,
I have a question about comparing databases.
Can we compare two different databases and find out the differences between them, if so how do we need to do it ?
Sometimes, i need to find the differences between two different databases of different versions of my product.
The differences could be in any object level like tables, storedprocedures, defualts, views, etc.
Please let me know if we have any option to do the same.
Thanks in advance,
Subhash
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I'm sure that someone from the DBGhost camp will also respond to this but here we use RedGate SQL Compare, it's cheap, it works and there's a free trial download available from their website.
I can't say that one is better than the other because i've only ever used this product (I don't work for them either so I have nothing to gain from saying one is better than the other).
Maybe it would be best for me to say that either SQL Compare or DBGhost will be up to the job and leave you to decide which one you want to look at
Mike
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I am not sure whether this is a tool to compare sql backups. But certainly there are tools to compare databases
My Blog:
http://dineshasanka.spaces.live.com/ -
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Continually ranked as one of the best third party SQL Server tools and priced right starting at about $200 - http://www.red-gate.com/sql/summary.htm . I use it all the time and swear by it to compare database structures/objects as well as data.
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I have to chime-in and give props to SQL Red-Gate. Awesome tool that will save tons of time.
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We use a great tool here AdeptSQL DiffTool (http://www.adeptsql.com/).
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As previously mentioned here is the obligatory DB Ghost plug
Diff tools are great, don't get me wrong, and they offer a great deal of functionality at a great price point if what you are after is a tool that will let you visually sift through a list of differences and hand pick which to propagate.
DB Ghost's fundamental approach is different to a pure diff tool.
Although DB Ghost can compare two databases and generate a delta script of the differences (that is, incidentally, guaranteed to work) it extends the concept of a "source database" to include individual drop/create scripts held in a source control system. This brings a whole host of benefits not least of which is that, when changes are made via the usual check out/check in procedure, you will automaticaly gain a full audit trail of the changes made to the SQL code just like you have for normal application code.
DB Ghost can also build a brand new database from the set of scripts under source control thus ensuring that no syntax or dependency issues have been introduced and it does this FASTER than a hand crafted SQL script run in Query Analyzer. For example a database with several thousand objects can be built in around 5 minutes on a normal P4 desktop machine. This means that you could implement a continuous build scheduled task as DB Ghost can also be run from the command line. With this kind of automated task in place developers could be immediately notified when a "build break" has occured in the SQL code allowing a swift resolution to the problem rather than waiting for a bug report to come back from the test team some days or weeks later.
Without question, having your code under source control is a fundamental requirement of any development project that doesn't want to descend into chaos. It's obvious how to use source control for application code - DB Ghost now makes it just as obvious for SQL code.
Regs,
Malcolm
Malcolm
DB Ghost - Build, compare and synchronize from source control = Database Change Management for SQL Server
www.dbghost.com
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