Great for non-DBA users
Updated November 08, 2019

Great for non-DBA users

Chris Oros | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Oracle SQL Developer

SQL Developer is currently used by our IT department. Various business users also have SQL Developer, but we discourage that in favor of business reports being written by our IT and BI teams. Some users in our IT department use TOAD, instead. Because SQL Oracle Developer is free, it is the preferred choice by management. Having an application to query our databases allows non-expert users to write and query SQL without the use of command-line applications, like SQL Plus. This "user-friendly" attribute is appealing to non-DBAs.
  • SQL Developer is useful for navigating the DDL of a table.
  • Easy-to-understand errors and explanations on incorrect queries.
  • Quick load time of application from start-up.
  • Explain plans are very helpful in tuning.
  • Never know when a query has been truly terminated. Even if one has access to the SQL Monitoring or Monitoring SQL Sessions, it still may show as being terminated but in actuality, within OEM, the query could still be running and need to be killed there. The inability to truly know when a session has ended results in frustration because the next query may not be able to run because the last is actually still running.
  • The tuning advisor runs very long and is not always helpful.
  • Not knowing the status of a query can be frustrating. That is, if a query is running long, it may show as "running" (i.e. the horizontal bar moving back and forth at the bottom of the screen), but in actuality, it may be hung up.
  • The cost of spending money on licenses for paid-products.
Oracle SQL Developer has a much simpler, novice-friendly interface than TOAD or Sequel Pro. Less clutter and fewer buttons makes it easier for a non-expert/non-DBA to navigate and query. Having a product supported by Oracle itself is also a draw. If an issue is being encountered, logging an SR and receiving feedback seems to be easier when you mention to Oracle that you're using their own product.
The drawback to SQL Developer, as mentioned prior, is the ambiguity surrounding long-running queries and queries that "should be" dead or killed but are in fact still using resources on the database.
dbForge Studio for Oracle, Micro Focus Application Lifecycle Management / Quality Center (ALM/QC), Notepad++, Skype for Business (formerly Lync), FileZilla
Factoring into my rating is the fact that the use of SQL Developer is free. I would suggest SQL Developer because it performs as well as any non-free application. That is, SQL Developer is not a "bare-bones" product- it is able to perform the same functions and aid in tuning a query just as well as any other product.
For non-DBAs, the interface is relatively easy to understand, with a straightforward feeling and very few buttons. This 'plain' feeling can help non-expert users not feel intimidated or inundated.