DEVOPSdigest

SQL from Redgate Software has been enhanced with a new code analysis feature.

Now, as well as offering advanced IntelliSense-style code completion, it alerts users to known code issues and hidden pitfalls as they type.

SQL Prompt is already a favored plug-in for SQL Server Management Studio and Visual Studio because it autocompletes code and takes care of formatting, object renaming, and other distractions.

Version 9, which has just been released, uses a library of rules behind the scenes to analyze code while it’s being written, detecting what are called code smells and providing instant solutions. By giving users inline suggestions for improving their SQL code, it helps them enhance the performance of their code, reduce maintenance and increase its reliability.

By suggesting improvements to the way code is written at the time it is being written, SQL Prompt will enable developers who are new to SQL coding to work faster and code smarter. They will learn how to fix issues before they even become a problem, with expandable information and further reading links available immediately.

To encourage the use of SQL Prompt as a team tool, with every member following the same best practice rules, deprecated rules, and naming conventions, etc, companies can also choose which analysis rules they want to follow from the library which is now included in SQL Prompt.

The inclusion of the new feature follows Redgate’s acquisition of the free tool, SQL Code Guard, which provides fast and comprehensive static analysis of T-SQL code. While SQL Code Guard continues to be free for personal and non-commercial use, the development team at Redgate has been adding further analysis rules, expanding the explanations of those rules, and integrating the functionality into Redgate tools like SQL Monitor as well as SQL Prompt.

Over 80 of the rules are already included in SQL Prompt v9, and more are being added daily to enhance its usability yet further.

Jamie Wallis, Redgate Product Marketing Manager, concludes: “SQL Prompt has been a popular SQL formatting tool for a long time. The addition of static code analysis is a major step forward and makes it a tool that improves the quality of SQL coding as well as increasing the speed of that coding.”