Meet the main database tools we use in software development

So, you’ve chosen the dark path. The part of web apps users can’t see, but that’s doing a lot of wheel turning: databases.

When doing database management, you don’t have to stick to white text on a black background. There are many useful resources out there made to help you access, manage and run queries in databases - whilst giving you visual guidance. 

And of course, it’s good to lay out the facts first - what does your project require? Which programming language would be the best fit? Which type of database server would work on that? When you’ve figured that out, you’ll have a better time choosing the right database tool for your needs.

Until then, maybe our picks could give you a headstart. So here is a list of the main database tools we use in software development: 

1.phpMyAdmin

Bring MySQL to the web seamlessly: phpMyAdmin is a free software tool written in PHP. It was created for handling the administration of a MySQL or MariaDB database server. With phpMyAdmin, you can perform most MySQL features, from creating a database, altering it, running queries, to adding and managing user accounts.

With phpMyAdmin, you’ve got a proper user interface for common database operations, but at the same time, you can execute SQL commands. It’s so well-established that one of its developers wrote an entire book about it.

This software tool was released many years ago (1998) and it’s still one of the preferred backend tools for beginners.

2.MySQL Workbench

Another old but gold database tool is MySQL Workbench. This one is not as popular, but we like it because of its many features. This resource is a database design tool that provides data modeling, SQL development, and comprehensive administration tools for server configuration, user administration, backup, and more.

It has visual models for creating, executing, and optimizing SQL queries, designing, modeling and generating databases, and for configuring servers, administrating users and viewing database health. Thus, it’s split into 3 main sections: SQL Development, Data Modeling, and Server Administration.

One of the best things about this tool is that it’s available across multiple platforms: Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. 

3.DataGrip

DataGrip is a cross-platform database IDE (Integrated Development Environment), which is basically a piece of software that gives you a wide range of development tools in a graphical interface. It’s got many many features, from database navigation and management to code completion and analysis.

DataGrip brings you a data editor, where you can open data tables, sort them, write SQL commands, add, remove or edit data, an SQL writing tool with schema-aware code completion, a code generator, code analysis that finds and signals gaps or problems in your code, it resolves references in your SQL files and lets you customize the appearance of your workspace. It also provides a query console and import/export options.

And most of all, it supports many different database management systems.

4.HeidiSQL

HeidiSQL is an open-source software that lets you see and edit data and structures with MariaDB, MySQL, Microsoft SQL, PostgreSQL and SQLite. It allows you to connect to multiple servers in one window, import and export files, browse and edit table data, write queries, optimize tables, and more. 

This program was released in 2002 and sadly, it’s less universal than the others on our list: it’s only available for Windows. But still, it can do a lot.

Overall, there are many great developer tools out there, whether they’re for backend or frontend. Choosing which ones to use comes down to personal preference, technical needs or project requirements.

Are you in need of a professional team of developers to help bring your project to the next level? Contact us and we’ll see what we can do together.

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