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SQL Developer Review
Updated December 04, 2019

SQL Developer Review

Maurice Samuels | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Oracle SQL Developer

I am a database administrator and I have recently started using SQL Developer command line (12.2) since it's been enhanced to be a successor to SQL Plus. I have always been interested in the graphical SQL Developer but as a dba, I required the command line functionality of SQL Plus. Now that SQL Developer command line exists, I have started using it. I really like some of the functionality but I am very new to using SQL Developer and wish that more robust documentation was available. I often find there are things in SQL Plus that I cannot do in SQL Developer command line, and I am unable to find the answers online. Using SQL Developer command line allows me to better perform my job functions as a dba.
  • Extract DDL for tables and indexes.
  • Provide statistical information from the data dictionary in an easy manner.
  • Help interface for command syntax is good when it works.
  • Help for legacy commands from SQL Plus- Some commands are deprecated but there is no explanation for what type of syntax to use instead.
  • Ability to start SQL Developer command line in the directory from which the command was launched (instead of SQL Developer home).
  • Spool without control characters.
  • Quickly execute SQL commands.
  • Quickly obtain table statistics without querying the data dictionary.
  • Still not at robust as SQL Plus.
Oracle SQL is well suited for:
  • Extracting DDL for tables and index is great.
  • Extracting DDL for constraints is not and using dbms_metadata is required.
  • Obtaining help for SQL commands would be great, like "help alter table".
  • Same for easily looking up Oracle errors (so merge SQL developer command line with the OERR facility)
  • Procedural interfaces with data pump import/export would be great too (automatically generate the calls to dbms_datapump).