Compare structures of two databases?

Question

I wanted to ask whether it is possible to compare the complete database structure of two huge databases. We have two databases, the one is a development database, the other a p

Answer 1

I finally used a simple tool called "mysql structure compare" to solve this. It's for windows only, but it's free and it works..

Answer 2

Depending on your database, the tools available vary.

I use Embarcadero's ER/Studio for this. It has a Compare and Merge feature.

There are plenty others, such as Toad for MySQL, that also have compare. Also agree on the Red-Gate suggestion, but never used it for MySQL.

Answer 3

If you are using MySQL there is a free tool DB Matcher where you upload the structure of 2 .SQL files and it gives you the differences

https://dbmatcher.com

Answer 4

SQL Examiner Suite 2010 compares MySQL databases (both schema and data)

Answer 5

For MySQL database you can compare view and tables (column name and column type) using this query:

SET @firstDatabaseName = '[first database name]';
SET @secondDatabaseName = '[second database name]';

SELECT * FROM  
  (SELECT
      CONCAT(cl.TABLE_NAME, ' [', cl.COLUMN_NAME, ', ', cl.COLUMN_TYPE, ']') tableRowType
    FROM information_schema.columns cl,  information_schema.TABLES ss
    WHERE
      cl.TABLE_NAME = ss.TABLE_NAME AND
      cl.TABLE_SCHEMA = @firstDatabaseName AND
      ss.TABLE_TYPE IN('BASE TABLE', 'VIEW')
    ORDER BY
      cl.table_name ) AS t1
LEFT JOIN                     
  (SELECT
      CONCAT(cl.TABLE_NAME, ' [', cl.COLUMN_NAME, ', ', cl.COLUMN_TYPE, ']') tableRowType
    FROM information_schema.columns cl,  information_schema.TABLES ss
    WHERE
      cl.TABLE_NAME = ss.TABLE_NAME AND
      cl.TABLE_SCHEMA = @secondDatabaseName AND
      ss.TABLE_TYPE IN('BASE TABLE', 'VIEW')
    ORDER BY
      cl.table_name ) AS t2 ON t1.tableRowType = t2.tableRowType
WHERE 
  t2.tableRowType IS NULL        
UNION 
SELECT * FROM  
  (SELECT
      CONCAT(cl.TABLE_NAME, ' [', cl.COLUMN_NAME, ', ', cl.COLUMN_TYPE, ']') tableRowType
    FROM information_schema.columns cl,  information_schema.TABLES ss
    WHERE
      cl.TABLE_NAME = ss.TABLE_NAME AND
      cl.TABLE_SCHEMA = @firstDatabaseName AND
      ss.TABLE_TYPE IN('BASE TABLE', 'VIEW')
    ORDER BY
      cl.table_name ) AS t1
RIGHT JOIN                     
  (SELECT
      CONCAT(cl.TABLE_NAME, ' [', cl.COLUMN_NAME, ', ', cl.COLUMN_TYPE, ']') tableRowType
    FROM information_schema.columns cl,  information_schema.TABLES ss
    WHERE
      cl.TABLE_NAME = ss.TABLE_NAME AND
      cl.TABLE_SCHEMA = @secondDatabaseName AND
      ss.TABLE_TYPE IN('BASE TABLE', 'VIEW')
    ORDER BY
      cl.table_name ) AS t2 ON t1.tableRowType = t2.tableRowType
WHERE 
  t1.tableRowType IS NULL;

If you prefer using tool with UI you can also use this script https://github.com/dlevsha/compalex which can compare tables, views, keys etc.

Compalex is a lightweight script to compare two database schemas. It supports MySQL, MS SQL Server and PostgreSQL.

Screenshot (compare tables)

Answer 6

Red-Gate SQL Compare is a great tool that will do this for you. I have used this for years with great success. It has saved me thousands of hours of work.

They also have a tool that will compare data as well. The product I mentioned above compares schema.

www-red-gate.com