How Does DB Schema Difftective Work?

A DBA or developer often needs to keep various database schemas (like development, testing and production databases) in sync. Changes made to one database schema need to be migrated to another database. DB Schema Difftective can keep your databases synchronized. With DB Schema Difftective you can compare schemas, find the structural differences between the databases, display the differences, and generate a SQL script that expresses the structure differences (synchronization script).

Select Source and Destination Database

The first thing you do when using DB Schema Difftective is to create a new schema compare project and specify the source database and the destination database that you want to compare. The The source database is used as the reference database and the destination database is the database that will change when you synchronize.

DB Schema Difftective automatically maps objects with the same name and the same owner/schema for you. If you want to compare objects with the same name, but those objects have different owners/schemas then you can map the owners/schemas in the schema mapping dialog.

Compare Database Schemas

After specifying the databases to compare, DB Schema Difftective will connect to the databases and load the database objects. After importing both databases, the databases are compared. DB Schema Difftective displays a message dialog box that shows the progress of the comparison. When the database objects are compared, a summary of the comparison results is displayed.

Examine the Schema Differences

When the comparison is finished, the structural differences between the two databases appear in the list and the details pane in the main window. The list displays a row for each database object that exists in either database. The details pane displays a side-by-side, colour-coded differences overview.

You can now select the database objects you want to synchronize.

Update the Destination Database

After viewing the differences, you are ready to synchronize the databases. Press the Synchronize button, select a name for the synchronization script, press OK and DB Schema Difftective generates an accurate synchronization script (SQL) for you. After reviewing the generated SQL script you need a tool to execute it.

Save Your Schema Comparison Project

If you plan to compare the same databases on a recurring basis, you can save the schema comparison to a project file. You can then re-compare the schemas by re-opening that comparison. By saving a schema comparison, you save database connection information, selected objects, schema mappings and comparison settings. Comparison results are saved also.