not sure which database GUI tool to use - SQLyog or HeidiSQL. Has anyone on this forum experience of either and maybe point me in the right direction. At the moment it will just be some general database stuff but I don't want to start with one to find I am limited further down the road. Also, what is the learning curve for either, which would be easier to get up and running with?
I've looked at HeidiSQL and it's OK, I suppose, although I use phpMyAdmin because it's what most hosting services provide, so I don't have to learn 2 interfaces when I switch between local and remote servers. There's not too much difference and I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference which you choose. I've never really looked at SQLyog.
Kind of an old thread, but it's a good question.
I bought SQLyog ultimate 10 months ago and have been loving it. Multiple connections in tabs, copying databases to across servers, autocomplete with field names, pasting data in Excel or text files, Explain Extended in a tab alongside queries... It's got a lot going for it. I haven't been using some "premium features" (such as query designer) because I'm not used to working that way.
HeidiSQL came on my radar again today, and from looking at the feature list on the website, it looks like it's now a really impressive product. And it's free. I haven't tried it, so I can't compare. Would be curious to hear from someone who has tried both.
Okay, I installed HeidiSQL a few days ago and had a decent look around. I can see why people like it, the interface is clean and it's a big step up from phpMyAdmin.
That being said, there are many features that I love having in SQLyog and that I couldn't find in Heidi:
- copying a DB from one server to another
- scheduled backups
- sync'ing DBs (including data) across servers, NOW or on a schedule. Not the same as copying.
- syinc'ing schemas (just the structure).
- connections in tabs
- schema designer (useful for understanding an alien database)
- query builder (but I don't use that in SQLyog)
- couldn't find import of Oracle or other ODBC DBs.
- I saw autocomplete in the prefs but couldn't get it to work
- less info on queries (e.g. EXPLAIN EXTENDED)
- I am sure I am forgetting a good handful of other convenient features that exist in SQLyog.
On the other hand I like the user-defined shortcuts in Heidi.
Not saying that none of these features exist, maybe I looked in the wrong place. Also bearing in mind that there are often several ways of doing things---saving a query to a script, uploading it to a different server and running it there.
Altogether, brilliant piece of freeware, the developers deserve applause. For many, it will be a great step up from phpMyAdmin. But, to answer the original question, in a different league from SQLyog (think Gimp vs Photoshop). If you're not a starving student and use mysql, I'd heartily recommend going with SQLyog.