Today we're introducing a new product which enables you to perform a very simple task:
Backup any table/sql statement into a compressed file.
While many already figure out the huge benefit just be reading the line above, here's some more detailed info:
When you have to send a table over (and let's suppose it's a big one, with a lot of columns/rows), there are various ways of getting the task done, but every one has its downsides. Here are some examples -
- bcp (in/out) - while being quite fast, bcp utility has quite a few limitations, lacks the table schema definition and takes up a lot of space. You will have to perform multiple steps both in the "backup" and the "restore" sides.
- csv/txt export - where should I begin... delimiters hell, missing schema (can include headers but no datatypes)
- ssis - very useful when you have a connection to both ends. otherwise, you would face the same issue on how to save the output (csv, tsv etc...)
- database backup - the name implies the problem; It backs up the entire database. Of course, you can create another empty database and start moving your tables but this creates a great overhead, takes up extra space (both the database files & the backup size) and requires the "restoring" user to actually have this database created and then take the table out of it.
The reasons above (and there are quite a few more) were the main objective of writing SqlTableZip; a product that solves this problem.
Think about it - next time you want to backup/pack/send some data over, simply write your select statement, click "Backup", take that .SQZ file anywhere and restore to any server/database you like, under any name you wish.
So, ready to try it out?
The 1st beta is out, free to use.
http://www.doccolabs.com/products_sqltablezip.html
