Code auto-completion can be a popular and useful technique for developers productivity who strive to write clear, accurate, and reliable code with little time and effort. As a rule, code completion tools provide context-based suggestions for code in the SQL editor, thus, helping stay focused, saving much time on daily coding tasks, and minimizing keystrokes.
Contents
- Feature comparison
- Price comparison
- SSMSBoost add-in for SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) review
- dbForge SQL Complete add-in for SSMS review
- Conclusion
There are a lot of code completion tools on the market. Today we are going to do a short review and features comparison of SSMSBoost and dbForge SQL Complete. All this may help you decide in favor of the most efficient completion tool.
Feature comparison
Now, let’s compare the features each tool provides. You can use it to decide on which tool 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 |
| T-SQL Analyzer | Yes | No |
| Auto-suggesting non-aggregated columns for GROUP BY clause | Yes | No |
| Find Invalid Objects CLI | Yes | No |
| Command Line Wizard | Yes | No |
| Releases | ||
| The very first release | v1.0 (Nov 19, 2010) | v2.1 (Apr 20, 2012) |
| The latest release (at the time of publication) | v7.0 (Sep 5, 2024) | v4.3 (Sep 3, 2024) |
| Total release quantity | 141 | 33 |
Note: For feature comparison, dbForge SQL Complete v7.0, and SSMSBoost v4.3 were used.
Price comparison
Both dbForge SQL Complete and SSMSBoost provide free 14-day trial versions so that users can try and evaluate the features applicable to their work. After the trial version expires, users can purchase a full version of the tool.
dbForge SQL Complete offers an Enterprise edition ($199.95 per year), a Standard edition ($129.95 per year), a Professional edition ($149.95 per year), and a free Express edition. In SSMSBoost, there is a free Community edition and a Professional license for $195.
SSMSBoost add-in for SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) review
Developers of the tool pitch SSMSBoost as an add-in for SQL Server Management Studio with extended SSMS features that were designed to speed up daily tasks and prevent developers from occasional loss. The tool is packed with a lot of useful features that include managing preferred server connections, switching between preferred and recent connections, setting connection coloring, creating alert messages for important connections, etc.
Besides, SSMSBoost simplifies the work with SQL objects, for example, the ‘go to definition’ feature, object scripting, object names management, and object location in Object Explorer. With auto replacements, developers can accelerate commands or snippets input.
SSMSBoost supports the oldest versions of SQL Server Management Studio, including 18, 17, 2016, 2014, 2012, and 2008 SP2, but it doesn’t support the latest version 19.x.
dbForge SQL Complete add-in for SSMS review
When thinking about something similar to SSMS software, dbForge SQL Complete can be on top of its alternatives, and it’s no surprise. The tool is a full-featured and advanced IntelliSense-style SQL autocompletion add-in for Visual Studio and SQL Server Management Studio. The focus on code refactoring, code completion, and SQL formatting features helps developers write stable and error-free SQL code much faster, thus, augmenting their productivity leaps and bounds better.
dbForge SQL Complete offers a lot of helpful and necessary features, such as context-based code completion, object suggestions, code refactoring, SQL snippets, grid aggregates, history execution, navigation between blocks, etc. With the object and variable renaming capabilities, code readability can be greatly improved. If there is a need to customize SQL code formatting, developers can easily apply formatting styles and profiles.
Conclusion
When making a choice towards one of the code completion tools, users usually weigh up all pros and cons, analyze the features the tools provide, and compare prices. The information covered in this article should simplify this choice. As you can see, dbForge SQL Complete deserves your attention as the best alternative to SSMS. With the tool, you can code faster, reduce mistakes, stay productive, and don’t have to worry about syntax checks or typos.
Download a free 14-day trial version of dbForge SQL Complete to assess the features it provides. After that, your SQL coding experience will not be the same as before and you will ask yourself ‘How could I live without you, dbForge SQL Complete?’
