May 16, 2008 at 6:34 am
I've just started to trial SQL2008 CTP6 (version 10.0.1300.13).
One of the features I was looking forward to was Intellisense, but it hasn't matched my expectations.
It wasn't so much the list of objects, or functions that I wanted to use Intellisense for, but more for things like the list of parameters for a function. For example, I can never remember the correct order of the parameters for SUBSTRING, or for REPLACE, and I was hoping that intellisense would at least give me a helpful hint, but it just lists, for example, "Param1 varchar, Param3 varchar, Param5 varchar" for REPLACE.
I *know* there are 3 parameters needed, one for the string to search in, one for the string to find, and one for the string to replace with BUT it's the order I forget!!!
May 16, 2008 at 8:02 am
I wasn't entirely happy with it either. Not too to be salesman, but Red Gate's SQL Prompt does everything you're looking for. I'm still planning on using it going forward.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
May 30, 2008 at 1:05 pm
You may need to wait for next release 🙂 to get what exactly you are looking for...
MS provides the functionaliyt in instalments...:)
MohammedU
Microsoft SQL Server MVP
May 30, 2008 at 3:03 pm
My first reaction on seeing the latest Microsoft SQL Intellisense was disappointment. It looked like a cut down version of SQL Prompt when SQL Prompt was a $20 app called PromptSQL.
SQL Prompt is a bit of a "Marmite" product. You either love it or hate it, there doesn't seem to be any middle ground. Personally I love it because it can do so much more than mere intellisense.
June 2, 2008 at 5:26 am
SQL Prompt does take some practice to get used to it being involved with your TSQL. I've gotten rather good at hitting the 'Esc' key when I know it's just getting in my way.
Maybe more functionality will be included in the final release.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
June 2, 2008 at 11:08 am
There is another release of 2008 slated soon, which should update things a bit. I work for Red Gate, and haven't compared them, but many people seem to love SQL Prompt.
June 3, 2008 at 6:47 am
SQL Prompt has too much overhead. The 2008 Intellisense seems much faster and less intrusive. Maybe I didn't use SQL Prompt long enough, but it was too annoying so I uninstalled it after a couple of days.
There's always pro's/con's, right?
June 3, 2008 at 6:54 am
Absolutely. Nothing is perfect. I do love SQL Prompt, but I recognize it's weaknesses. For example, I've had it, out of the blue, chew up all the system resources. It's only happened once or twice, but it was a serious pain. The other thing is, it's practically a Microsoft product. It tries way to hard to "help" me do stuff that I can do better on my own. Still, once you get addicted, it's like crack. I can't stand not having table & column names popping up on the fly as I type.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
June 4, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Hi,
Steve - Can you recollect which version of SQL Prompt you had used and found these issues on?
SQL Prompt did have some performance issues with the older versions. However, we did address this issue in our recent versions and there has been a massive improvement which is visible in our current versions!
Grant - As far as the intrusiveness is concerned, SQL Prompt gives you an option to turn off the automatic triggerring (so that the suggestions do not get populated unless you manually force it to show using CTRL+SPACE). But then there is a downside of not being able to get the candidates (tables and columns) suggested automatically as I see that is something you love 🙂
Also, if there is a pattern or steps that you figured out to replicate the resource hog issue please do let us know!
We are currently working on planning tasks for SQL Prompt v4.0. This is a major version but since we are on the primitive stages of planning our tasks I am not in a position to announce any of the features or changes at this point of time. We will keep our forums (accessible from Red Gate support page) updated with announcements relating to this.
Thank you for all your comments (good and bad) on SQL Prompt 😀
Regards,
Tanya
June 5, 2008 at 6:04 am
Thanks for the response Tanya. Like I say, I may whine a bit now & then, but I'm seriously addicted to your product.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
June 5, 2008 at 6:07 am
Tanya, I don't recall the version of SQL Prompt I was running. It was at least a year ago. I was using the version that I "won" from SQL Server Central for xx number of posts. If Steve J. can recall when this promotion occured you would have a better idea. I say I don't really have too much patience with tools, so if they don't add value to what I'm doing, I just move on. Your "sql compare" products work great!
Now if you could sort of copy what PLSQL Developer by All Round Automations does for Oracle, then I'd totally be into the product. That product has been an awesome tool for Oracle development.
Steve
June 6, 2008 at 6:25 am
Steve,
I won a copy also and since it is a licensed copy, I have been checking for and receiving regular updates. I now have the latest version and don't really experience any performance issues.
The biggest issue I have with any Intellisense product for any SQL is that you need to ask for data before the Intellisense engine knows where to get it from. SELECT blah, blah FROM blah, blah. If we could get the Standards people to reverse that, FROM blah, blah SELECT blah, blah, Intellisense products would be able to limit choices that are actually related to what will be Selected 😀
MG
"There are two ways of constructing a software design. One way is to make it so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies. And the other way is to make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies."
Tony Hoare
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair.
June 6, 2008 at 7:09 am
That's what I mean when I say you have to learn how to work with the tool. I generally type 'SELECT * FROM' and then start building the FROM clause and after that's done, go back up & type the select list. It's a bit of a pain, but it makes the tool work for me, even though I'm sort of working for it. :hehe:
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
June 6, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I use the snippets so
ssf becomes SELECT * FROM
scf becomes SELECT COUNT(*) FROM
I've added my own so I have one for
IF EXISTS(SELECT 1 FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ROUTINES WHERE ROUTINE_NAME='')
BEGIN
DROP PROC dbo.
PRINT 'PROC DROPPED: dbo.'
END
GO
If you put $CURSOR$ in the snippet then that is where the cursor will move to when the snippet is inserted.
What I would like in V4 is a $DATE$ macro with some formatting options.
It is worth trawling around the settings because there is one to make sure that the objects are prefixed by their owner.
You may also notice that as objects inserted by intellisense are the correct case then cache hits seem to improve on procs.
June 9, 2008 at 5:17 am
A fine idea. I'll have to try that. Thanks.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
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