DbVisualizer for Mac

I've been using DbVisualizer since 2006 and have been a happy customer ever since. Updates appear on a regular basis and customer support is quick and helpful. Yes, the program is written in Java and it does not look 100% native. But still it looks and feels great. I have seen native Cocoa Apps which feel sluggish and unpolished in comparison. The SQL editor is fast and comes with syntax highlighting, auto-completion and all sorts of (configurable!) keyboard shortcuts. It is lacking a vi-mode though. What makes DbVisualizer really shine is its graphing feature. Similar products can create visualizations of a database schema as well, but only DbVisualizer produces a layout that does not look like a knot of spaghetti. DbVisualizer is an excellent product for a very reasonable price.

This is a really professional tool to query every possible database accessible by JDBC. I use it daily and professionally and albeit the UI is not Mac-like (Java) it's power features are hard to find anywhere else. Import and Export is highy configurable, syntax highlighting and completion as you would expect. I use it mainly for Informix, Oracle and MySQL Databases without any problems so far (started with version 7 and currently 8) - I highly recommend taking a look at it. Well worth the money if you are a pro.

Draconian install, very un-userfriendly. First thing that pops up is a "buy me" dialog. It's listed as free, so I assume it's for support only. SQLite access didn't work. mysql over ssh worked fine, would be nice to have a httptunnel, but I won't complain. postgresql worked, MSSql seemed to work fine. In all however, I didn't see the use in this over a dedicated tool like phpMyAdmin, Mysql studio, or MSSQL Studio. This brought nothing more to the table than an interface to type in sql commands and view data. No typeahead hints, no autotable completion, nothing special in any way. I suppose it's a decent way to keep all your databases in one spot, but without even an SSH tunnel manager, it's more work to create the connections than to manage the tool.

Here's a detailed comparison of DbVisualizer with alternative SQLite GUI programs: http://www.tandb.com.au/sqlite/compare/

DB Visualizer seems to be the most full featured SQL GUI tool out there. It has some data entry aids that really make it viable, such as automatic form view (on record per screen), adjustable grid views and filters for everything from table listing to rows of data. Some of the tools and options aren't immediately obvious but very impressive once you find them. It's a Java app which limits a lot of Mac OS X integration (eg all the windows move in Spaces together) and some controls (such as tabbed panes) don't work in the standard Mac way. It's "Mac Look and Feel" setting makes DbVisualizer more palatable than most Java apps, but it's still a bit ugly and non-intuitive for Mac users. DbVisualizer, uses JBDC drivers to connect to the database. That takes a bit of fiddling which would scare off most users. I've tried two available JDBC drivers with SQLite (the most prolific database on the Mac) and only get limited functionality. For instance, I can't get DbVisualizer to show me the source of a selected table or view, I can't see triggers in the list. Every time I make changes to data, DbVisualizer complains that "no rows were affected by this edit", but the changes were actually made. Overall it's a great program that I can't yet use until SQLite access is fixed.