Monday, November 26, 2012

Schema Compare - now it's different, now it's not

When comparing two SQL Server database objects, like comparing two tables, comparing two stored procedures, comparing two triggers, comparing two functions etc., the result of the comparison is not a clear cut "equal" or "different". The result depends on what you care to compare. The simplest example that demonstrates this point is the issue of spaces in the object definition: let's say you are comparing [DB1].[SP1] with [DB2].[SP1] and  further let's assume that both stored procedures are identical except for the fact that [DB2].[SP1] contains an extra blank line at the end of the definition. The question is: are the stored procedures [DB1].[SP1] and [DB2].[SP1] equal or are they different? Well, in this particular case if you only care about the functionality you would say that they are equal but if you also want those stored procedures to appear visually identical then you would say they are different.

Like the example of "spaces in the definition" above, there are many other elements that affect the result of the comparison of different types of database objects. xSQL Schema Compare for SQL Server exposes over 40 comparison options that drive the comparison engine and affect the results of the comparison between two SQL Server database schemas giving you total control over the comparison and synchronization process.

While this level of flexibility and control is very helpful for many users it is also often the cause of confusion for others. You compare table1 to table2 and they show as equal but a minute later when you run a re-compare they show as different even though you did not make any changes to the structure of those two tables! After a closer look you realize that in the first compare you did not consider the "lock escalation property" whereas on the second run you did and that caused those two tables to appear as different.

So, does the user need to spend time understanding all those options in the new xSQL Schema Compare for SQL Server? No, absolutely not! In over 95% of database schema comparison and synchronization cases the user does not need to look at or even be aware of the existence of those comparison options – just compare, generate synchronization script and execute it on target.

xSQL Schema Compare for SQL Server is free for SQL Server Express – no limitations. It is also free for other editions of SQL Server but with some limitations on the number of objects in the database.
Download your copy of xSQL Schema Compare for SQL Server here…

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