Oracle tool debugs SQL databases

Free SQL developer tool debugs SQL and PL/SQL languages

Oracle is offering a free SQL Developer tool for debugging SQL and PL/SQL (Oracle’s Procedural Language extension to SQL).

Formerly known as project Raptor, the package is available for download for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. SQL Developer is written in Java using Oracle’s own JDeveloper integrated development environment (IDE) and will work on any system running a Java Virtual Machine (JVM), though it is not an open-source project, according to the blog of Sue Harper, product manager for SQL Developer.

SQL Developer allows users to edit and debug PL/SQL, create and run SQL scripts, and create and run reports against SQL data dictionaries. The package will let developers connect to Oracle databases from version 9.2 onwards – this includes all editions and the Express (XE) version.

Oracle said the package is aimed at database developers writing and packaging SQL applications, but could also appeal to database administrators wanting to tune database performance. Users can install SQL Developer straight onto the database server and then connect remotely avoiding client-server traffic.

Industry experts said vendors of rival products will be under pressure to reduce prices, but added that Oracle’s developer community lags behind producers of competing tools, such as Quest.

Oracle SQL Developer is available from the Oracle Technology Network and support is available for customers with an Oracle Database licence.

A free online forum has been set up for registered users to discuss issues regarding SQL Developer and related software.