ProductsDatabaseSpyDatabase Schema Comparison

Visual database schema comparison in DatabaseSpy® 2012 helps you compare database structures and merge differences within the same database type or across different database types.

Database administrators and other IT professionals often need to compare the structures of similar databases. The DatabaseSpy® 2012 visual database schema comparison feature helps you accelerate this task.

You can compare database schemas within the same database type, or across database types. For example, you can compare a SQL Server database structure on a development server to your live SQL Server production server, or you can compare a database schema in SQL Server with an Oracle database or with any other database type supported by DatabaseSpy® 2012.

DatabaseSpy Database Schema Comparison Supported Databases

Details of the SQL database query language vary among implementations of relational database systems from different vendors. DatabaseSpy® 2012 supports multiple database types and automatically adapts its database schema comparison functionality to the following databases:

• Microsoft® SQL Server® 2000, 2005, 2008
• IBM DB2® 8, 9
• IBM DB2 for iSeries® v5.4, 6.1
• Oracle® 9i, 10g, 11g
• Sybase® 12
• MySQL® 4, 5
• PostgreSQL 8
• Microsoft Access™ 2003, 2007

Additionally, you can select and edit SQL configurations as illustrated in the SQL Formatting section below.

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Database Schema Comparison

Begin a database schema comparison from the File menu or by clicking the schema comparison button on the DatabaseSpy toolbar.

A dialog opens that lets you select the database structures to compare. You may click checkboxes a single table, multiple tables, or entire database schemas. The Left Side / Right Side buttons let you conveniently review your choices before beginning the comparison.

DatabaseSpy® 2012 automatically maps corresponding components with the same names in the database structures. You can manually connect components that that do not have identical names to map them.

When you are satisfied with your mappings, click the Compare button. DatabaseSpy® 2012 compares the structures and highlights differences with color and not-equal icons. In the illustrated example, the selected Employee tables are not equal. The datatypes of the title columns are highlighted to indicate they are not identical, and the EyeColor column in the table on the right does not exist on the left.

Compare Different Database Types

The DatabaseSpy® 2012 Select Tables dialog offers access to all connected databases, allowing you to easily compare database schemas in databases of different types.

You can use manual connection mapping to compare tables with different names in different database types.

Merge Database Structure Differences

You can merge differences between the database schemas by clicking the merge buttons on the toolbar.

Or, open the right click context menu for options to create merge and restore scripts in either direction.

Either way, DatabaseSpy® 2012 always creates and opens the merge script in a new SQL Editor window for you to review. No changes are made to any database structure until you manually execute the merge script.

Merging differences between tables can also impact references to foreign keys or other relationships in your database. DatabaseSpy® 2012 analyzes table relationships and modifies them appropriately in the change script.

Save Database Comparisons for Reuse

Database schema comparison settings can be saved in a file and added to a DatabaseSpy project for quick retrieval and reuse.

This is extremely useful for comparisons between development and production servers that need to be performed on an ongoing basis.

Find out for yourself how easily DatabaseSpy® 2012 can compare database schemas for your own databases – download a fully-functional 30-day trial today.