Originally created to help database developers write, format and refactor T-SQL code faster and easier with IntelliSense-style code completion, SQL Prompt has grown over the last decade into a comprehensive tool that increases code quality and reduces technical debt. The winner of the 2017 Visual Studio Magazine Reader’s Choice Award in the Productivity Tools category, it now includes code analysis, a range of styling options, and code snippets which can be shared to introduce standards and maintain consistency.
Those features themselves have been introduced because the way databases are developed is changing. Application developers are increasingly also responsible for the database and, with organizations wanting to release more features faster, the database has to keep pace. This often results in teams of developers working on different branches or features of the same shared code base, which can result in inconsistencies and mistakes.
As Natali Stoeva, Redgate Product Marketing Manager, explains: “Once you have more than one person working on database code, differences start to emerge. Some people may have their own personal styling preferences, for example, coding skills will vary, and new developers will be unfamiliar with the particular rules or syntax being used.”
SQL Prompt smooths out those differences in three key ways.
Firstly, team styles can be created, customized and shared so that the T-SQL code base has a consistent look and feel. Importantly, developers can use their own style while writing code and switch to the team style with a few keyboard clicks when sharing it.
Secondly, code snippets can be created and customized for frequently used code. By sharing them among teams, the time writing SQL is reduced, the risk of syntax errors falls, and code is safer to execute, easier to understand, and faster to test.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, code quality standards can be maintained with close to 100 code analysis rules that run in the background. Potential code issues and hidden pitfalls are highlighted as soon as code is typed, and clear explanations and suggestions to improve the code are provided instantly. The list of rules can also now be managed and customized so that every member of the team is following the same rules all of the time.
As a direct result, any team member can be trusted to change, add and write code easily to the same standard as more experienced colleagues, allowing changers to be committed and deployed faster, easier, and more safely.