Aqua Data Studio Review

Database IDE With A Workspace Environment

Aqua Data Studio is a modern database IDE that provides users with a workspace environment to streamline and automate the administration and designing of databases, regardless of their type or class. This workspace environment enables them to organize and navigate through query windows, files, and documents with flexibility.

Visual Analytics

Visual analytics is among the noteworthy features available in Aqua Data Studio. Designed with an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface, Aqua Data Studio lets users create different visual representations of data by pulling in query results and aggregating datasets into individual pages which are referred to as worksheets.

These worksheets then together with the visual representations that comprise them can be placed on dashboards that provide a single and summary view of the worksheets. The layout of the dashboards can also be customized and their content can be filtered, making them more interactive. These dashboards can be shared with colleagues and customers, and worksheets can be saved in workbooks so others can explore and analyze data.

Advanced Query And Analysis Tools

Aqua Data Studio is built with query and analysis tools which permit users to connect to database servers and create and execute queries effortlessly. One of these tools is its powerful visual query builder which enables them to construct SQL queries without the need of typing any SQL statements. In addition, they will be able to directly select tables or views directly from Aqua Data Studio’s UI using column selection options. A rich set of visual options are also provided in order for users to combine SQL properties which include JOINs, indexes, operators, aliases, and criteria.

Another query and analysis tool offered by Aqua Data Studio is its advanced query analyzer. This tool helps users save time in writing SQL statements. It has the capability to automatically insert frequently used SQL statements in a code such as select, deselect, or insert. Through its SQL abbreviation feature, users can define SQL abbreviations to automatically complete lengthy blocks of SQL statements with just a few keystrokes. The query analyzer delivers a feature called Pivot and Charts which assist users in quickly analyzing large amount of table data and generating graphical representations of datasets.

Powerful Table Data Editor

Aqua Data Studio is equipped with a powerful table data editor that has grid editing features and functionalities similar to Excel. Users will be able to fill, copy or paste, or find and replace cell data like how they do it in Excel. The table data editor also checks whether the entered data has the proper format based on its type. In addition, color codes are applied to cells as users edit table data. This way, they can easily track the changes they have made.

Object Search And Visual Editing

To quickly search for objects within a database, Aqua Data Studio introduces a tool named as Object Search Tool. With this tool, database objects can be searched based on type, schema name, object name, column name, index columns, constraint columns, trigger columns, or systems objects. Search results can also be filtered and sorted. As users browse database objects, Aqua Data Studio lets them visually edit these objects.

Entity Relationship Modeler

Aqua Data Studio comes with an ER or Entity Relationship modeler which is used to build and manage ER diagrams and physical database models. It supports the creation of physical database models for all major RDBMS or Relational Database Management System vendors and versions. The modeler permits users to reverse engineer existing databases so they can generate and visualize database structures and models. They can import tables and views from databases to their ER models as well as compare two ER models. The ER modeler can also forward engineer models into databases. Thus, ER diagrams are converted into DDL or Data Definition Language scripts.

Schema Comparison With Synchronization

The database IDE provides compare and synchronization tools which enable users to identify the differences in DDL between two schema objects from different databases. Through the aid of a color-coded grid, they will be able to quickly view the differences between schema objects. Differences can be deployed from the source schema to the target schema, allowing synchronization between the two schemas. Additionally, the results of the schema comparison can be saved as an HTML report.

Interactive Database Shells

Aqua Data Studio is built with interactive database shells which make the administration of databases a breeze. One of these database shells is the FluidShell, a database shell which integrates the functionality of a Unix shell with the SQL command line. As a result, it enables users to automatically extract, transform, and load data from a single database shell.

Another database shell included in Aqua Data Studio is the MongoShell. This is a JavaScript shell which also utilizes the versatility of the Unix shell and combines it with the native mongo command line. MongoShell is used for the administration and maintenance of MongoDB clusters.

Integrated SQL Debuggers

Summing it up, Aqua Data Studio offers integrated SQL debuggers for Oracle, IBM DB2 UDB, Microsoft SQL Server, and Sybase ASE.  With these debuggers, users can debug stored procedures, functions, and packages. They will be able to easily assess the variables and conditional flows of codes by setting breakpoints and using stepping functionalities – step into, step over, and step return.