Alternative Overview of the SSMSBoost Add-in for SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)

Written by jordan-sanders | Published 2022/12/19
Tech Story Tags: sql | sql-server | sql-database | servers | architecture | programming | software-development | software-engineering

TLDRThere are lots of code completion tools out there. Today we will do a short review and features comparison of dbForge SQL Complete and SSMSBoost. All this will help you decide what the best completion tool is.via the TL;DR App

Code completion is a popular and valuable technique for programmers who want to write clear, accurate, and reliable code without spending too much time.

Usually, code completion helps save time on day-to-day coding tasks by providing contextual suggestions for code in the SQL editor. Thus, you can focus on what you do best instead of typing.

There are lots of code completion tools out there. Today we will do a short review and features comparison of dbForge SQL Complete and SSMSBoost. All this will help you decide what the best completion tool is.

Overview of the SSMSBoost Add-in for SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)

Developers of the SSMSBoost call it an add-in for SSMS with extended SSMS features. They pitch it as a tool to help developers perform daily tasks and avoid loss in their code. This software makes it easy to manage your preferred server connections, switch between your preferred and recent connections, set up connection colors for each connection, create alert messages for essential connections, etc.

SSMSBoost simplifies the work with SQL objects, such as the ‘Go to Definition’ feature, object scripting, object name management, and object location in Object Explorer. Autoreplacements let developers accelerate commands or snippets that they input. This tool supports all versions of SSMS, such as 18, 17, 2016, 2014, 2012, and 2008 SP2.

Overview of the dbForge SQL Complete add-in for SSMS

When considering alternatives to SSMS, dbForge SQL Complete may be the most valuable and functional. And this is not surprising because it is a full-featured and advanced IntelliSense-style SQL autocompletion add-in for Visual Studio and SSMS.

Code refactoring, completion, and SQL formatting opportunities help write stable and error-free SQL code faster. This allows them to augment their productivity leaps and bounds better.

dbForge SQL Complete offers many valuable features, including context-based code completion, object suggestions, code refactoring, SQL snippets, grid aggregates, history execution, navigation between blocks, etc. The object and variable renaming capabilities can greatly improve the code readability. SQL developers can use various formatting options to format the code as desired.

Below, you'll see a comparison of the features each tool (dbForge SQL Complete v6.12 and SSMSBoost v3.12) provides. It will help you decide what tools to choose to reach your goals.

Feature

dbForge SQL Complete

SSMSBoost

Compatibility

SQL Server support

2000-2022

2000-2019

Azure SQL support

Yes

Yes

SSMS integration

Yes

Yes

Visual Studio integration

Yes

No

Improve code quality

Find invalid objects

Yes

No

Generate CRUD

Yes

No

Generate the CREATE/ALTER script for server objects

Yes

Yes

Renaming objects, variables, and aliases

Yes

No

T-SQL Debugger

Yes

No

Work safe with document environment and database

Various options for executing statements

Yes

No

Execution warnings

Yes

Yes

Execution notifications

Yes

Yes

Transaction Reminder

Yes

Yes

Tabs coloring

Yes

Yes

Custom SSMS main window title

Yes

Yes

Execution history of SQL statements

Yes

Yes

Important Database alert

No

Yes

Tabs management

Yes

Yes

Quick Connection Switch

No

Yes

Documents sessions

Yes

Yes

Recently closed documents

Yes

No

Operate with data in SSMS data grid

Results Grid Data Visualizers

Yes

Yes

Copy Data As from SSMS grid to XML, CSV, HTML, JSON, Excel

Yes

Yes

Copy Data As from SSMS grid to File

Yes

No

Copy Results Grid Headers (Column Names + Types)

Yes

Yes

Find Columns in Results Grid

No

Yes

Grid Aggregates

Yes

Yes

Find in Results Grid

Yes

Yes

Generate Script As from SSMS data grid

Yes

Yes

Boost coding productivity

Context-sensitive suggestion of objects names and keywords

Yes

No

Object information

Yes

No

Parameter information

Yes

No

SQL snippets

Yes

Yes

“Go to definition” for database objects

Yes

Yes

Highlight occurrences of an identifier

Yes

No

Highlight BEGIN/END and CASE/END

Yes

Yes

Highlight BEGIN TRY/END TRY and BEGIN CATCH/END CATCH

Yes

No

Highlight COLUMNS and VALUES in an INSERT statement

Yes

Yes

Navigation between queries

Yes

No

Navigation between brackets

Yes

Yes

Named regions

Yes

Yes

Vertical guidelines

No

Yes

Navigation between COLUMNS and VALUES in an INSERT statement

Yes

Yes

Navigation between BEGIN TRY/END TRY and BEGIN CATCH/END CATCH

Yes

No

Navigation between BEGIN/END and CASE/END

Yes

Yes

SQL Editor contents history

No

Yes

Document Outline window

Yes

No

Unify SQL standards

SQL formatting

Yes

Yes

Multiple predefined formatting profiles

Yes

No

Keeping original format for a piece of code

Yes

Yes

Formatting Profile Quick Select

Yes

No

Command-line interface

Yes

No

Settings

Import/Export Settings Wizard

Yes

No

Manage keyboard shortcuts

No

Yes

Quick search for options

Yes

Yes

Releases

The very first release

v1.0 (Nov 19, 2010)

v2.1 (Apr 20, 2012)

The latest release (at the time of publication)

v6.12 (Sep 12, 2022)

v3.12 (Apr 7, 2021)

Total release quantity

133

32

Price comparison

Users can download the trial version of both dbForge SQL Complete and SSMSBoost and use them for free for 14 days to evaluate their features, which might be useful for your work. Once the expiration date passes, the user can purchase a full version.

dbForge SQL Complete offers three editions: a free Express edition, a Standard ($199.95), and a Professional ($249.95). In SSMSBoost, you'll find a free community edition and a professional license at $195. The price differences are minor, but dbForge SQL Complete provides more features.

Conclusion

People weigh all pros and cons when choosing one of the code completion tools. Users analyze the tools' features, compare prices, and find the right tool. This article is designed to simplify your selection. SQL Server Management Studio is an excellent alternative to SSMS that allows you to code faster without typos and not waste time on syntax checks.

To check out its features, you can download a 14-day trial version of dbForge SQL Complete. After that, you will have a completely different SQL coding experience and no longer want to work without dbForge SQL Complete.

A version of this article appears here.


Written by jordan-sanders | PR Manager at Devart since 2010 | Obsessed with the promotion of database development optimization
Published by HackerNoon on 2022/12/19