Release Notes – 2020.9.0 – SQL Editor

If the last release was the biggest release ever for modelDBA, this release marks the next evolution of the app. Until now, modelDBA has only been a nocode database editor. However, in the total lifecycle of a database, changes are relatively few and far between. A stable database structure is the norm. The vast majority of the time, we no longer need to worry about the structure of our database. Instead, we want to query the data in the database. This release adds an SQL editor to modelDBA, making it a true database IDE.

More than just a plain (aka boring) SQL editor, modelDBA is making it easier than ever to understand your database and write queries that do what you expect. We’ve all had the experience of writing a query on a less-than-familiar set of tables. You spend more than half your time looking through dropdown lists of tables, cross-referencing the foreign keys to make sure your output data is actually telling you what you think it is. With the new SQL editor, as you type your query, a database diagram with all the tables in your query will automatically be generated alongside it. When you SELECT a set of columns, you will see them defined in a special “Output” table in the query diagram.

Visualize SQL queries as you type!

The SQL editor also takes advantage of the fact that it knows all about the structure of your database. It can make much more educated autocompletion recommendations than most IDEs, based on your foreign keys. Better yet, as you scroll through the autocomplete recommendations, you’ll see the corresponding tables and columns highlighted in the diagram.

The goal of these features is twofold:

  1. Make you faster and more efficient when querying your database, especially if it’s a part of the database that you are not super familiar with.
  2. Make your queries more accurate. Especially with complex queries, when you start introducing a lot of aliases, it’s easy to get mixed up with which table is joined to the other. With our instant query diagrams, you can easily see which tables you’ve joined. Fewer mistakes, better results.

We want you to have the best possible experience querying your database. Give it a try and let us know what you think. Happy querying.

Download the latest version of modelDBA here. This release includes the following upgrades.

Major

  • The new SQL editor lets you query the database while visualizing your queries as you type
  • Smart autocompletion predicts the correct table or column based on your database structure

Minor

  • Fixed bug where resizing the app window could cause uncommitted changes to be lost
  • If you lose connection to a database, modelDBA will now keep the existing database information instead of clearing it

We'll send you updates on new functionality and tips on database management.