The SQL Compare 8.0 release candidate is now available. The purpose of this release candidate is to provide a preview of the SQL Compare 8, which is due at the end of February. There have been many useful suggestions following the beta of SQL Compare 8.0, and we have considered all of this feedback and incorporated many changes to address them. Among other changes we have done the following:
• Reintroduced the ability to
change the direction of synchronization.
• Introduced an easier way to create SQL Compare schema snapshots and script folders.
• Reintroduced the
project selection and management dialog.
• Added an option to
show the recent project list on start up. The default remains to open the most recent project.
• We have
improved the way we display find results by showing database objects that match as well as objects that do not match a find request.
These improvements come in addition to the following enhancements that were available in the beta:
•
Filtering rules: SQL Compare 8.0 introduces fine-grained filtering of database objects, and you can now build highly expressive rules to filter out objects with a specific schema, or objects that have a particular prefix. For example, it is now easy to exclude from the comparison result stored procedures that belong to the “marketing†schema and/or have the “dev_†or “tmp_†prefix.
•
Project selection and project saving: After a great deal of usability testing and research we have changed the way projects are saved. You now have the ability to explicitly save comparison projects, without having to perform a comparison. The project files are also now easier to locate and share.
•
Error reporting for scripts folders: In SQL Compare Pro version 6 we introduced the ability to compare and synchronize against SQL creation scripts. Some people had extra SQL statements in their creation scripts that were intentionally not considered by SQL Compare. Examples included drop statements and certain alter statements. SQL Compare now provides detailed information on what statements are ignored, and provides warnings about which branches of conditional statements are being chosen.
•
Handling target scripts as live databases: Prior versions of SQL Compare Pro could synchronize differences to creation scripts. However, as of this version, SQL Compare can also provide a migration script as well. This feature can be used to quickly generate change scripts between any two versions of a database schema when the target schema is a set of creation scripts (for example it is stored in source control).
•
Backup before synchronization: Many customers requested the ability to take a database backup automatically before synchronization. This feature is now part of SQL Compare, and you can choose between a native SQL Server backup, a SQL Compare schema snapshot, or a compressed/encrypted backup by SQL Backup if available.
Download SQL Compare 8.0 release candidate hereInstallation
In order to install please first uninstall the SQL Compare 8.0 beta, if it was installed, and then run SQL Compare_8.0.0.928.exe and follow the onscreen instructions.
You will be able to use this release candidate until March 15. If you have SQL Compare 7 installed, you will be able to continue to use the two products in parallel.
• Reintroduced the ability to change the direction of synchronization.
• Introduced an easier way to create SQL Compare schema snapshots and script folders.
• Reintroduced the project selection and management dialog.
• Added an option to show the recent project list on start up. The default remains to open the most recent project.
• We have improved the way we display find results by showing database objects that match as well as objects that do not match a find request.
These improvements come in addition to the following enhancements that were available in the beta:
• Filtering rules: SQL Compare 8.0 introduces fine-grained filtering of database objects, and you can now build highly expressive rules to filter out objects with a specific schema, or objects that have a particular prefix. For example, it is now easy to exclude from the comparison result stored procedures that belong to the “marketing†schema and/or have the “dev_†or “tmp_†prefix.
• Project selection and project saving: After a great deal of usability testing and research we have changed the way projects are saved. You now have the ability to explicitly save comparison projects, without having to perform a comparison. The project files are also now easier to locate and share.
• Error reporting for scripts folders: In SQL Compare Pro version 6 we introduced the ability to compare and synchronize against SQL creation scripts. Some people had extra SQL statements in their creation scripts that were intentionally not considered by SQL Compare. Examples included drop statements and certain alter statements. SQL Compare now provides detailed information on what statements are ignored, and provides warnings about which branches of conditional statements are being chosen.
• Handling target scripts as live databases: Prior versions of SQL Compare Pro could synchronize differences to creation scripts. However, as of this version, SQL Compare can also provide a migration script as well. This feature can be used to quickly generate change scripts between any two versions of a database schema when the target schema is a set of creation scripts (for example it is stored in source control).
• Backup before synchronization: Many customers requested the ability to take a database backup automatically before synchronization. This feature is now part of SQL Compare, and you can choose between a native SQL Server backup, a SQL Compare schema snapshot, or a compressed/encrypted backup by SQL Backup if available.
Download SQL Compare 8.0 release candidate here
Installation
In order to install please first uninstall the SQL Compare 8.0 beta, if it was installed, and then run SQL Compare_8.0.0.928.exe and follow the onscreen instructions.
You will be able to use this release candidate until March 15. If you have SQL Compare 7 installed, you will be able to continue to use the two products in parallel.