I know some developers are good enough to code without intellisense. But I’m not as I started coding with Visual Studio so I live with intellisense from day one. Intellisense is like an iPhone to everyday people living in 21 century.
I was pretty happy with the intellisense and other intelligent support from Visual Studio and ReSharper.
One day, while writing a SQL script on SSMS I had a question that why intellisense in SSMS is so poor even in 2020. and I started a quick search for a 3rd party intellisense tool like Resharper in SSMS.
First, I installed ApexSQL’s SQL code complete and used a few days. This looked provided intellisense, but it shows all DB objects each time and actually didn’t show the columns when I needed.
After a few unhappy days, I installed Devart’s SQL Complete. It turns out this is the one I was looking for. I show the best potential SQL syntax, database names, column names exactly when it’s needed and does the auto-complete. I finally felt like coding C# in Visual Studio and all the stress I used to have during SQL coding. This tool saves a lot of time for me when coding SQL in SSMS.
This tool provides other functions like refactoring and lots of productivity features, which I’ll explore as it goes.
Even better is that this tool provides an express (free) version, which is good enough to enjoy IntelliSense.
BTW, ‘Go to definition’ is a must-have function for any coder, which is provided only for the paid version of code complete.
If not to pay US$199 for the paid version of SQL complete, the alternative option for Go to definition can be SQL Search by RedGate. However, the repetitive re-indexing of SQL Search is slow and annoying, just you know.
If you are not using SQL Complete. It’s like you are coding in NotePad.
Added on 2021-10-05
I switched SQL Search by RedGate with dbForge Search, which I found better in 2 ways.
- It’s annoying when SQL Search by RedGate keeps re-indexing and forces me to wait. SQL Search finds DB objects instantly. But it randomly re-index and it takes a while. dbForge Search does search through database each time I search a DB object. It takes a little more time than SQL Search, but it does not require indexing. I’m happy with the way dbForge does.
- When clicked a found DB object like a table, SQL Search shows it without syntax coloring. But, dbForge Search applies the SQL syntax color, which is much nice to read.