SoftTree SQL Assistant v11.5 (maintenance release) - What's New

April 29, 2021


New Features and Major Changes

Productivity and Intellisense enhancements

  1. In this maintenance release we placed a special focus on improving user interface and experience. Multiple "wizards" are added to help you with common tasks, to instantly find previously saved projects and settings, and so on...
  2. Many graphical dialogs are updated to seamlessly support color themes. Themes can be now switched on the fly using new top level menus.
  3. The Connection dialog is improved to help users working with many different database connections. It now supports search filters and an aggregated database connection listing for all database types.
  4. SQL Intellisense enhancements - faster and more flexible selection of JOINs
  5. SQL Intellisense enhancements - improved user interface and accuracy for suggestions in GROUP BY, HAVING, SORT BY, and similar SQL constructs.
  6. SQL Intellisense enhancements - enhanced intellisense for Oracle object tables with and without inheritance.
  7. Oracle's NLS_LENGTH_SEMANTICS parameter is now recognized; Its value may change behavior of graphical table management functions, and other SQL code generation functions.

New tools added to SQL Assistant toolset

  1. Data Factory - new automation utility for loading data into your databases.
  2. Oracle - new graphical Performance Dashboard.

Other productivity enhancements

  1. Command Selector now enables customizing its contents. You can choose which categories of commands and items you want to appear in the Command Selector.
  2. Clone It tasks can be run now in the background while you continue working with the development environment.
  3. Test Data Generator now supports new Initialization and Finalization sections allowing custom project initialization and finalization tasks executed directly from the project.
  4. Load Generator now supports new Initialization and Finalization sections allowing custom project initialization and finalization tasks executed directly from the project.
  5. Clone It now supports cloning Oracle object tables with data.
  6. SQL Editor Professional Edition now supports editing and compiling Java stored procedures, as well as working with other types of procedural code files, including Tcl, Python, and others.
  7. MariaDB native client is installed with SQL Assistant allowing seamless connections to MariaDB servers and faster data operations.
  8. SQL Editor Professional Edition now supports new Database menu containing database and schema management commands that were previously available in toolbars and various DB Explorer context menus only.

Database management enhancements

  1. Oracle - graphical management of XMLType Tables and columns.
  2. DB2 - graphical management of database connection aliases, nodes, and databases.
  3. Oracle - graphical management of DDL and LOGON triggers.
  4. Oracle - management of pluggable database states, enabling single click starting, stopping, and other common operations with PDBs.
  5. Oracle - the Alert Log can be read remotely, supporting log record filtering by time, message severity, and text.

Miscellaneous

  1. Lots of other minor enhancements.
  2. Over 20 known defects fixed.

 

SoftTree SQL Assistant v11.3 (maintenance release) - What's New

January 11, 2021


New Features and Major Changes

New tools added to SQL Assistant toolset

  1. SQL Server - Task-oriented SQL Profiler for SQL Server.
  2. DB2 - Clone It for DB2 LUW databases and schemas.
  3. Oracle - Clone It for Oracle databases and schemas.

Database performance monitoring and tuning

  1. DB2 - new Graphical Performance Dashboard.
  2. PostgreSQL - Top SQL queries for tuning.
  3. DB2 - Top SQL queries for tuning.
  4. Oracle - Top SQL queries for tuning.
  5. MariaDB - Top SQL queries for tuning.
  6. MySQL - Top SQL queries for tuning.
  7. SQL Server - Top SQL queries for tuning.
  8. Azure SQL - Top SQL queries for tuning.
  9. Redshift - Top SQL queries for tuning (experimental version).

Productivity and Intellisense enhancements

  1. SQL Intellisense enhancements - contents pf historical SQL queries section is easier to customizable, you can choose types of items to show or hide.
  2. SQL Intellisense enhancements - Better intellisense for HAVING and GROUP BY clauses with automatic suggestions for multiple columns based on their references in other parts of the same query.
  3. Data-grid enhancements - Columns smart auto-fit tailored to window size.
  4. Data-grid enhancements - Search data history is preserved for reuse.
  5. Oracle - Data-grid can now retrieve and update REF data types.
  6. Load Generator - now supports Initialize and Cleanup sections for integrated preparation of the test environment.

Database management enhancements

  1. PostgreSQL - compatibility changes for supporting PostgreSQL version 12.
  2. SQL Server - Graphical management of Linked Server profiles.
  3. DB2 - Renovated graphical backup and restore interface.
  4. Oracle - Enhanced Oracle graphical backup and restore interfaces now supports both RMON and DataPump based export/import.
  5. Oracle - Oracle code execution, SQL Editor now supports creating Java stored procedures and compiling Java classes.
  6. Oracle - Dependencies/references analysis now supports object types.
  7. Oracle - graphical management of Object Type Tables
  8. DB2 - Schema compare, many improvements supporting richer set of attributes and improved schema comparison results and schema synchronization.
  9. Oracle - Schema compare, many improvements supporting richer set of attributes and improved schema comparison results and schema synchronization.

Miscellaneous

  1. Many other minor enhancements.
  2. Over 30 defects fixed.

 

SoftTree SQL Assistant v11.2 (maintenance release) - What's New

July 1, 2020


New Features and Major Changes

New tools added to SQL Assistant toolset

  1. Clone It - New utility for cloning databases, schemas, and individual database and schema scope objects.
  2. Table Columns Usage report - Simplified tracking of table usage with columns specific references in various database procedures, constraints, etc...

Productivity and Intellisense enhancements

  1. SQL Intellisense enhancements - Displaying used and unused columns in different colors to aid with spotting missing columns.
  2. SQL Intellisense enhancements - Better intellisense for HAVING and GROUP BY clauses with automatic suggestions for multiple columns based on their references in other parts of the same query.
  3. SQL Intellisense enhancements - Recognition of inner functions in Oracle PL/SQL packages and types.
  4. SQL Intellisense enhancements - Enhanced completion of placeholder values in UPDATE statements.
  5. Data grids - Selective columns freezing.
  6. Data grids - One click auto-fixing grid columns width to display full content.
  7. Data grids - Remembering column specific user selected display formats, as well as better management of common user-defined display format styles for different data types.
  8. Data grids - Now supporting Unicode data coping from/to Clipboard.

SQL Editor IDE enhancements

  1. Unique features for Oracle developers - multi-dimensional views of the server with database Edition drop-down and container Database drop-downs added to the toolbar for on the fly switching between different editions and different PDBs.
  2. Query execution timing statistics automatically shown in the Message pane.
  3. New advanced File Search and Replace supporting regular expressions, automatic file backups before changes, logging, etc.
  4. Code folding - User defined regions are now marked on the syntax bar / code map and can be used for fast code navigation.

Database specific enhancements

  1. PostgreSQL - Now supporting latest PostgreSQL version 12.
  2. PostgreSQL - Support for geometry data types.
  1. Oracle - Recognition of Oracle editionable schema object properties and support for schema editions.
  2. Oracle - Support for pluggable databases and their graphical management.
  3. Oracle - Graphical database backup and restore.
  4. Oracle - DDL generated for tables now includes all their direct dependencies such as indexes, triggers, etc...
  5. Oracle - Support for two new index types: bitmap join and cluster indexes.
  6. Oracle - Support for "inmemory" join group.
  7. Oracle - Support for analytical views.
  8. Oracle - Enhanced DBMS_OUTPUT interface supporting long messages printed via DBMS_OUTPUT package.
  9. Oracle - ADO.NET based connections now support Oracle LONG data types.
  10. Oracle - Added Java Class object type to DB Explorer and schema management.
  1. SQL Server - New graphical management interface for SQL Agent, job scheduling, and alerting.
  2. SQL Server - Performance Monitor now supports SQL Server instances running on Linux systems.
  3. SQL Server - Performance Monitor added page life expectancy chart for enhanced monitoring of buffer cache usage.
  1. Redshift - Support for materialized views.
  2. Redshift - Support for stored procedures.
  1. Multiple new graphical database and schema management dialogs with especially big push focused on Oracle schema management.

Improvements made in other utilities

  1. Test data generator - Seed data libraries can be optionally defined by SQL queries fetching data from external databases (note that's quite different from the lookup tables supported before and now too).
  2. Test data generator - Improved project management interface.
  3. Test data generator - Unicode is now supported in data libraries.
  4. Database Source Code Control - Improved automated scheduled syncing of database changes to repository, and from repository back to the database.
  5. Data import - Support for tab separated value files.
  6. Schema compare - tons of improvements across the board, with deeper database analysis and more accurate results.

Improved Options and customizations

  1. Many enhancements in the Options dialog, including copying code formatting rules between styles.
  2. New search in the options (there are now over 2000 customizable options), as well as in code snippets, formatting rules, unit test cases, code generator macros, and so on...
  3. Greater control of types of database and schema object shown in DB Explorer, intellisense prompts, and in other places.
  4. Improvements in UI themes, now supporting options for coloring regular expressions and template lexers.
  5. Sticky size data columns in various too remembering your changes.

Bug fixes

  1. Database Source Code control - Multiple defects fixed in Git interface.
  2. Fixed significant regression introduced in version v11.1 which affected code formatting, causing in some cases disappearance of UNION keywords.
  3. Over 150 other defects fixed.

 

SoftTree SQL Assistant v11.1 (maintenance release) - What's New

December 4, 2019


New Features and Major Changes

Productivity and Intellisense enhancements

  1. SQL Editor Professional Edition now supports foldable code regions like --#region name ... --#endregion. Also supported are code regions based on SQL Preprocessor conditional directives like --#if defined condition ... --#endif.
  2. New enhancements for SQL Server Management Studio data grids: Additional functions are now accessible through grid's context menus including data and column searching, reporting and analytics, data scripting.
  3. New Excel style Auto-filter for point and click filtering is now available in data grids.
  4. Find Column available in data grids.
  5. Intellisense for JOIN ... USING syntax.
  6. Intellisense enhancements supporting SQL statement syntax changes introduced in Oracle 12R2 through 19R1 in various DDL and DML operations.
  7. 10 fold performance increase of data retrieval operations using Oracle OCI connections.
  8. New SQL References for Oracle 12c, 18c, 19c.

New tools added to SQL Assistant toolset

  1. Fast direct flat file loader for fast data loading into all supported database types.
  2. Graphical performance monitor for PostgreSQL.
  3. Table defraggers for PostgreSQL, Greenplum, and Redshift.

Test data generator and code generator enhancements

  1. Generation of test data using regular expressions for advanced value control.
  2. Enhanced preview of data generation results optimized for large projects.
  3. New Open in Editor option in Code generator for easy of editing of generated automation scripts before their execution.

Database management enhancements

  1. Support for features introduced in latest MariaDB releases including temporal tables, computed, invisible, and compressed columns, and other new features.
  2. Multiple enhancements Implemented in Oracle database management interface, including management of flashback archives, materialized views, libraries, and so on. Also now supporting Oracle's unique Edition Based Redefinitions features.

Miscellaneous

  1. Many other minor improvements, and bug fixes.

 

SoftTree SQL Assistant v11.0 (major release) - What's New

August 9, 2019


New Features and Major Changes

New database systems

  1. Now supporting Apache Hive and Apache SparkSQL. Working with Hadoop using SQL Assistant + Hive or SparkSQL now is as simple as working with MySQL, SQL Server, and other database systems you already know well. Same kind of treatment for tables, views, SQL Intellisense, SQL commands and query execution, graphical schema management, data import/export, schema compare, etc.. we got it all.

New and improved integration with other development tools

  1. Support for MySQL Workbench 8.x.
  2. Support for SQL Server Management Studio 18.x.
  3. Support for Visual Studio 2019.
  4. Support for Microsoft Access 16.0 (2016 - Office 365).
  5. Enhanced support for Heidi SQL.

New and improved UI

  1. UI themes are finally here (two dark themes, Mac like theme, soft blue theme) in addition to the default theme.
  2. Many improvements including "recharged" SQL Editor Professional Edition.
  3. Data-grids: column reorganization, dynamic data formatting, data additions to tables without primary keys and unique indexes, and more.
  4. Redesigned progress of work dialogs for all kinds of batch operations with at a glance summary object processing statuses, including data imports/exports, code and data generation, load and unit testing, and so on...
  5. Redesigned database connection dialog with integrated management of connection profiles.

Database management interfaces

  1. Extended support for managing partitioned tables including automatic no-data-loss conversions from regular tables to partitioned and back.
  2. Support for new features of PostgreSQL 11.
  3. New graphical management interface for Amazon Redshift.
  4. New graphical management interface for Pivotal Greenplum.
  5. New graphical management interface for Apache Hive.
  6. New graphical management interface for Apache SparkSQL.
  7. New graphical MySQL Scheduler management.
  8. New graphical pgAgent Scheduler management.
  9. New graphical DB2 workload management.
  10. New graphical table type editors for SQL Server and Azure SQL.
  11. Management of MariaDB temporal (system versioned) tables.
  12. Performance Dashboard for SQL Server.
  13. Performance Dashboard for Azure SQL.
  14. Performance Dashboard for MySQL.
  15. Performance Dashboard for MariaDB.
  16. Index defraggers for SQL Server and Azure SQL.
  17. Graphical table maintenance for PostgreSQL, Pivotal Greenplum, MySQL, and MariaDB.

SQL Intellisense and its dependencies

  1. New SQL Reference for MariaDB v10.
  2. New SQL Reference for Apache Hive.
  3. New SQL Reference for Apache SparkSQL.

Schema comparison engine

  1. Comparison of partitioned and external tables for all supported database system types.
  2. Significantly enhanced DB2 schema compare functions including comparison of virtually all kinds of database objects and their attributes.

Data export/import, and data scripting

  1. Now supporting an array of bulk data insert methods using native connectivity, ADO.NET and ODBC interfaces for very fast data loading.
  2. Enhanced data imports using INSERT commands with bind parameters for cases when bulk inserts cannot be used.
  3. Data exports and data scripting can now be scheduled to run at predefined times.

Database Source Code Control

  1. Source Code Control now supports all types of database objects that can be scripted, and not just tables, views, and procedural code as in the previous versions.

Other enhancements

  1. Support for external and partitioned tables in DB Explorer, in graphical database management dialogs, and in the schema comparison engine.
  2. Redesigned SQL Preprocessor pane - no longer requires manual activation, can be turned on and off in the options and works silently in the background just like a code preprocessor works in C/C++ development environments.
  3. Oracle ADO.NET connections now support SYSDBA option.
  4. Many other minor and not so minor improvements.

 

 

Changes in Other Versions

See What's New 10.x page for details on new features added in SQL Assistant version 10.x releases.

See What's New 9.x page for details on new features added in SQL Assistant version 9.x releases.

See What's New 7.x page for details on new features added in SQL Assistant version 7.x releases.

See What's New 6.x page for details on new features added in SQL Assistant version 6.x releases.

See What's New 5.x page for details on new features added in SQL Assistant version 5.x releases.

See What's New page for details on new features added in SQL Assistant versions 2.x - 4.x.