Hey guys!!
How are you? Ready to reach a new level when it comes to writing queries quickly and with quality?

In this post I would like to comment and give my opinions about a tool that has been on the market for a long time and that perhaps many of you already know or have heard of, but have never used on a daily basis. This tool is SQL Prompt, from Redgate.

The proposal of this renowned tool is a promise of more standardized codes, ease and absurd productivity in writing T-SQL queries and agility in query analysis. Is this really the tool?

Below, I will tell you about my experience using SQL Prompt and how it changed in my life. This report is not from a guy who has been using the tool for a week to test, but rather from a guy who has been using SQL Prompt daily, at least 8 hours a day, for over 4 years (since version 5).

PS: I'm not receiving ANYTHING in exchange for this post, believe me... lol... I just want to promote SQL Prompt for those who don't know it yet

Write less, think more

With several features that reduce the amount of code you need to write (because it does it for you), you will spend less time writing queries and more time thinking about how to add value to the business.

Among the resources that allow you to increase productivity in an absurd way and become a ninja in writing queries, I can mention:

  • Editable snippets, which allow you to use keyboard shortcuts to abbreviate commands
  • Position the mouse over an object and SQL Prompt shows you the definitions and source code (even if it is encrypted)
  • Press F12 on a programming object (Stored Procedure, Function, etc.) and the SQL Prompt will direct you to the screen for changing that object
  • “Open in Excel” in Grid. No more copying and pasting into Excel, changing value formatting, etc.
  • “Script as INSERT” in Grid. Who has never needed to generate an INSERT based on a resultset?
  • Suggestions of possible candidates for columns in JOINs (Based on FKs, data types and column names)
  • Parameter suggestions when running SP’s
  • Tab History: Have you ever imagined a repository to retrieve and search strings in ALL the queries you have opened in Management Studio since installing SQ Prompt? Did you accidentally close a tab? Did your SSMS restart itself or did your PC shut down in the middle of that unsaved 1,000-line query? Your problems are over!
  • SELECT * (Tab) returns the name of all columns from the tables involved in the SELECT

Some examples of Productivity:

DBA’s make mistakes too. But SQL Prompt does not

Although the DBA is a professional with a high level of attention, technical knowledge and focus, unfortunately they also make mistakes, and a mistake by a professional of this level of importance and criticality for a company can be fatal. Thinking about avoiding errors due to lack of attention, SQL Prompt identifies and warns about possible errors that the DBA may make in day-to-day tasks.

Among the resources for this purpose that SQL Prompt offers, I would like to highlight:

  • Alerts when you try to perform a TRUNCATE TABLE command on a physical table
  • Alerts when you try to perform an UPDATE or DELETE command without using WHERE on a physical table
  • Allows you to define the environment of each instance and specifies a color for these environments. Trust me, you'll pay much more attention when you're executing a command and your SSMS tab and status bar are red (production).. Oh, and you won't run it thinking it's the development environment either.. lol

Some Security examples:

Code standardization: Your team speaking the same language

Anyone who works with programming, be it T-SQL, PL/SQL, PHP, C#, etc. knows very well how different indentation, formatting and coding style within a team can hinder the development of a project when it is done by more than one person.

With this in mind, Redgate completely overhauled its code formatting tools in version 8, giving much more freedom and allowing several new customizations. With this, your team can define a formatting standard and everyone can use it (yes, SQL Prompt allows you to export/import these definitions between the team easily).

Did you use that legacy code for maintenance, all without standards, formatting and indentation? With just 1 click, SQL Prompt will format all this code according to the standard your team is following. Be honest, in an SP with 10,000 lines, how long would it take you to reformat and identify everything? Lol

The time where each T-SQL developer on your team formats their procedures, functions and routines in a different way is over. Welcome to code standardization.

Some examples of code standardization:

Get the most out of Management Studio

Once you install SQL Prompt, several other features are incorporated into your SQL Server Management Studio, such as SQL Search, Tab History and other tools that make the day-to-day life of the DBA and/or developer much easier.

In the video below, I have selected some resources that help me a lot on a daily basis and contribute to maintaining performance well above that of other professionals who do not use SQL Prompt.

Some examples of new SQL Prompt tools:

Document database objects

A resource that is extremely useful and important for business continuity and knowledge sharing within the database area is documentation. With this in mind, Redgate innovated by allowing object tooltips to read extended property information from databases, tables and columns, allowing the DBA/Developer to access the documentation for these objects without having to open documentation. PRODUCTIVITY.

See how this works:

Are you a manager, coordinator or hold some other management position and are still wondering if it is really worth investing in SQL Prompt? If the answer is yes, you must not have watched the videos or never written a query in your life. The productivity gain is absurd for professionals who use this tool and the investment in acquiring the license ends up being converted into productivity in a few days.

Within a few weeks, your team will be developing standardized codes, with greater security when executing scripts in different environments and with a creation speed and code quality much higher than what you currently had.

I'll say it again: Whoever is writing this didn't win NOTHING from Redgate, I'm just a daily user of the tool, having used it for 4 years, and very satisfied with the result. I work on a team with 23 analysts, where EVERYONE uses SQL Prompt and this even showed us a problem with the tool: Once you start using it, you can't go without it and go back to Intellisense from SSMS. Low productivity and dissatisfaction are visible when a new resource comes into the company (there is a whole internal process for acquiring new licenses and it takes a while) or when someone formats the machine and has to wait for the SQL Prompt to be installed.

That's it, folks!
I hope you liked this post. The idea is not to advertise SQL Prompt but to publicize and share even more how much productivity your team can gain with a low investment.