SQL Delta is an excellent tool to compare database structures and objects. It's used for DBS and DBO bidirectional synchronization and reporting. SQL Delta's options, accompanied by command line interface, make the program very attractive for these database administrators and developers who work with MS SQL Server.

Several years ago I worked as a programmer at a battery farm. Along with the tasks to forecast hens' and rosters' death rate and to automatically calculate quantity of and expenses on the required "birdseed", periodically I have to synchronize the database of the headquarters with that of distant offices (filled at times with inefficient and so quite inadequate personnel). To avoid various mistakes and delays, the process of synchronization had to be automatized and it was; but the solution to the problem might have been more elegant if only SQL Delta had been at hand.

SQL Delta is very easy-to-use. At the start of the program Connection Manager Window appears and it lets us choose databases to compare: a Source and a Target ones.

The result of the databases comparison is a table showing differences between DBOs.

Here, having done some simple manipulations, we can specify exact objects and how to synchronize them, i.e. we choose a Source or a Target database to update. As a result SQL Delta generates a set of SQL scripts, bringing the databases to the strict conformity.

SQL Delta also lets us get some reports useful for analysis of database structure.

An excellent feature of the program is the opportunity to work without server connection. SQL Delta makes a snapshot of a DB structure into an XML file and further works with it. This might have helped us at the battery farm, as we could have kept one snapshot of the DB which was in current use and use it as a source for all DBs, wherever they were. The snapshots are of small size and it is a great advantage, especially when connection is slow and unstable.

Another joyful point is Command Line Interface. You just run an executable file, with the parameter being the name of the file comprising necessary settings and instructions. This file is an XML file. Its structure resembles that of SQL Delta project files, but it has some additional features, for example, to email reports. To my thinking, the only weakness here is the impossibility to execute scripts and so to execute factual update of DB structures. SQL places the task on administrators' shoulders. But, the "omission" is quite deliberate and is justified by safety reasons. SQL Delta does not backup synchronized DBs. On the web-site the program developers claim that 4th version will support automatic execution of the upgrade scripts using the command line interface as well as backup of synchronized objects.

What I obviously do not like about the program is the absence of Help for the CLI in the contents of the main Help of the program. Of course, I found it on the site as a PDF document. The inconvenience is explained by the feature's newness. But it will never do when a program developer is supposed to be sound and reliable.

One more disappointing factor is a confusing and illogical user interface and also some minor bugs appearing at the use of graphical environment (and so not influencing the program functioning).

On the other hand the SQL Delta support department works quickly and efficiently. And the program itself is evolving. It is proved by the fact that since I started to write the review, the program has been updated with the help of embedded Web Update Manager.

It is difficult to say if the program is worth buying… But if you often have to deal with DB comparison and synchronization, it would be wise to spend some time, learn and assess SQL Delta's options and features.

SQL Delta keywords: database, compare, tools, sql, delta, data compare, structure compare, schema compare, compare tool, synchronize