Increasingly complex data is making writing SQL a nightmare for some IT staff, but a new tool from Sybase Inc. promises to make the task easier for its Adaptive Server Enterprise 12.5 database.
The Emeryville, Calif., company has partnered with a Hong Kong company for a software tool that analyzes SQL code as its written.
The deal with Lecco Technology Ltd., announced on Tuesday, makes Sybase the exclusive reseller of Leccos SQL Expert option software.
“You feed it a SQL statement that you feel is not performing well. It applies a number of rules-based options for rewriting the query,” explained Eric Miner, senior software engineer at Sybase. Sybase developers can also link it to their own Abstract Query Plan feature, so users can make a library of preferred code methods, he said. Expert Option can be a graphical interface on top of that, he said.
The tool, now in its third version, does involve new ways of thinking, Miner said. “There is a learning curve in needing to understand how query processing works,” Miner said.
Data analytics capability may also be on the horizon, Miner said. The product costs $7,500 per seat and is available now, officials said.
Sybase has no near-term plans to make the product into a direct feature of the database itself, officials said.
