Recently I faced with necessity of generating meaningful SQL data for testing purposes. During my search for a proper application for the task, I found out that Devart, a recognized developer of database solutions, released dbForge Data Generator for SQL Server, a GUI tool for fast generation of meaningful SQL data for development and testing purposes. Devart stated that with the tool, I will be able to:
- Populate SQL Server tables with millions of rows of test data
- Generate meaningful data that looks just like real data
- Use 100+ predefined generators with sensible configuration options
- Customize built-in generators
- Create user-defined generators
- Preview generation results
- Save data population script for future reference
- Automate data generation with the command-line interface
It sounded great, so I decided to give a quick test for the tool. Moreover, Devart offers a 30-day free trial for the most of its products, including Data Generator for SQL Server.
The first thing I noticed after running SQL Data Generator was clear user-friendly interface. The start page of the tool includes quick access to the main features and allows to quickly run recent projects, if any.
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After running new data generation, I was prompted to select connection and database as well as to set default data generation options. I decided to generate meaningful data for few columns of the AdventrureWokrsTest database.
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On the Options page, I selected to generate 2000 rows, and cleared the Include Null values option.
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After that, Data Generator showed the generation document. I selected the following columns of the Person.Contact table for data population:
- ContactID
- Title
- First Name
- LatName
- EmailAddress
Now, the time has come for selecting generators for each column. In dbForge Data Generator for SQL Server, all generators are split into several categories for easier look-up.
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I was really impressed with the collection of generators the application offers. The tool automatically detects and offers appropriate generators for a given column. Also, Data Generator for SQL Server includes multiple ways to make generated data more customized. For instance, you can:
- Set the range of generated values for different SQL data types
- Define the percentage of NULLs to be generated
- Set the value distribution mode
- Immediately preview data that will be generated
Data Generator suggested the following generators:
- IDs for the ContactID Additionally, I selected the Random by timestamp value distribution mode for getting more complex numbers.
- Honirific Prefix (Title) for the Title column
- First Name (male) for the FirstName column
- Last Name for the LastName column
- Email for the EmailAddress This generator is based on the following regular expression \c{3,8}(\d{0,3}|.\c{3,10})@nowhere.com that can be customized right in the Fill settings section of Column generation settings. For instance, you can modify the regular expression, so that the domain name would be “mailservice.com” instead of “nowhere.com”.
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Data Generator also allows to modify existing generators and create your own ones, so in future you won’t need to modify the same generator over and over again. I opened the Email.xml file, that is located at C:\Users\Public\Documents\Devart\dbForge Data Generator for SQL Server\Data Generators, modified regular expression so that the domain name would consist of combination of letters, updated description, name, and saved the file as MyEmail.xml:
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The following screenshot shows the data generation document with the result of my manipulations:
I was quite satisfied with the results showed in Preview, so I was ready to populate the target database with data. Data Generator offers several ways to do that, namely:
- Open the data population script in the internal editor
- Save the SQL script to a file
- Run the script automatically
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I chose the first option and in few seconds, I got the following population script:
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To sum up, I would like to say that the tool has done a fantastic job for me. In my opinion, the most strong points of Devart’s Data Generator are:
- Simple work-flow in a convenient interface. With dbForge Data Generator, the process takes just couple of minutes and basically, it is simplified to three simple steps:
- Selecting required tables
- Selecting and customizing a required generator
- Populating tables with test data
- Impressive collection of generators. The tool includes over 100 generators that allow to populate tables with realistic-looking test data.
- Flexible Customization Options. Developers put really much effort for making data more customized and suiting specific needs.
I strongly recommend to give dbForge Data Generator for SQL Server a try and to evaluate its functionality on your own by downloading a 30-day free trial.
Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)
Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Server Management Studio, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL Tagged: Devart Image may be NSFW.
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