Stored-Procedure Debugger
The SQL-Programmer debugger, which is in the toolbar above the stored-procedure editor, has the usual debugger features (Step Into, Over, and Breakpoints) and lets you open multiple debugging sessions at once. The current version doesn't work with stored procedures that contain dynamic SQL and it occasionally produces Dr. Watson exception error messages, which I hope Sylvain Faust will fix in a future service pack.
Installation and Configuration
Because SQL-Programmer is a cross-platform tool, when you install it, you're asked to enter a key that defines which back-end products to connect to. With the demo CD-ROM, you can get this key from the Sylvain Faust Web site.
You'll need several files to install the Sylvain Faust debugger, including sqldbg.dll and sqldbreg.exe on the client and msdi98.dll on the server, which come with the SQL Server and Visual Studio CD-ROM. If you've already installed the Visual Studio stored-procedure debugging utility, these files are in place. However, you still need to configure the Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) on your server. Assistance on installs is available at the Sylvain Faust Support Page for Frequently Asked Questions (http://www.sfi-software.com/support.htm).
SQL-Programmer for SQL Server resides somewhere between the Enterprise Manager and Visual Studio; it combines some of these applications' features and adds some of its own. To SQL-Programmer's credit, it has more developer features than Enterprise Manager and addresses more database objects than Visual Studio, including object security. SQL-Programmer also has many useful features, such as a documenter, a search utility, and object copy and paste.
Although SQL-Programmer has many innovations that the SQL Server and Visual Studio database tools lack, its look is different from Microsoft's GUI (for example, it has older-looking icons) and for this reason you might consider it to have a less modern interface. Also, SQL-Programmer's use of multiple-document interface (MDI) windows isn't like Microsoft's GUI and takes some getting used to.
If you aren't satisfied with the amount of effort you invest when you use Microsoft tools to develop stored procedures and other T-SQL objects, or if you don't like switching among Enterprise Manager, Query Analyzer, and Visual Studio, consider SQL-Programmer. You won't need to remember all the database management system (DBMS) vendors' tool features if you use SQL-Programmer's consistent interface for cross-platform development.
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