Microsoft will hold its annual technology Build event from May 23 to 24, 2023. Online registration is free; more information is available at the event FAQ page.
Category Archives: PowerShell
Windows Terminal is a new application for command-line tool users
Microsoft has announced the upcoming release of its new command line tool application Windows Terminal. This application for PowerShell and WSL users is currently available for download at GitHub and is also available the Microsoft Store.
More information about Windows Terminal can be found at at the Terminal FAQ page.
Update: Windows 11 allows you to select Terminal as your default command-line interface.
SQL Server and Azure SQL Database Tools and Utilities
Microsoft has made available many free downloadable apps for SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and/or Azure Synapse Analytics (formerly Azure SQL Data Warehouse), including:
- SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
- Azure Data Studio (formerly SQL Operations Studio)
- Azure SQL Documentation
- SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT)
- SQL Server ODBC Driver
- Transaction Log Architecture and Management
- SQL Server Troubleshooting documentation
- SQL Server PowerShell cmdlets such as Invoke-Sqlcmd
- SQL Server Configuration Manager
- Data Migration Assistant (DMA)
- SQL Server documentation at GitHub
- Database Engine Tuning Advisor and dta utility – analyzes a workload or SQL script and recommends data server structures to improve performance
- mssql-cli – a command-line tool for querying SQL Server on Windows, macOS, or Linux
- SqlCmd utility and Microsoft Command Line Utilities
- Database Console Commands (DBCC)
- DBCC TRACEON Trace Flags
- Extended Events – replacement for deprecated SQL Server Profiler and SQL Trace
- SQL Server Diagnostic Connection for Database Administrators (DAC)
- mssql-scripter – multi-platform command line tools for SQL Server scripting
- TableDiff utility – a row by row data comparison of two tables
- Diagnostic Connection or Dedicated Administrator Connection (DAC)
- SqlLogShip – a command line tool for log shipping operations
- SqlLocalDB – a command line tool for SQL Server Express LocalDB
- SqlPackage – a command-line tool for importing and exporting databases and snapshots from SQL Server or Azure SQL databases (download available)
- mssql-conf – configure SQL Server on Linux
- RML Utilities for SQL Server – a set of tools and processes to run load tests
- Database Experimentation Assistant (DEA) – an A/B testing solution for SQL Server upgrades
- Distributed Replay – replay a workload like SQL Server Profiler but from multiple computers for SQL Server or Azure SQL databases.
A list of most of these SQL tools and utilities can be found at the SQL tools overview and command prompt utilities pages.
Visual Studio Extensions Marketplace
Extensions for the Microsoft Visual Studio suite of products can be found at marketplace.visualstudio.com. Extensions add support for languages not included in Visual Studio, aid in IDE development, or perform a specific task.
Some current popular extensions are:
- Azure Extensions
- Azure DevOps Extensions
- Visual Studio Extensions
- Visual Studio Code Extensions
- PowerShell (replaces PowerShell ISE)
- SQL Server, Azure SQL and SQL Data Warehouse (mssql)
- Python
- Docker
- Chrome Debugger
- Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio Code
- Go language for Visual Studio Code
- PostgreSQL for Visual Studio Code
- Productivity Power Tools Extensions
- Visual Studio IntelliCode for Python and Java
- Visual Studio Live Share
- Visual Studio Pull Requests
- C# and C/C++
- Developer Analytics Tools
- Visual Studio Code Remote for WSL, SSH and Docker containers
- Visual Studio Code – Coding Pack for Java – Windows and MacOS
- Java Language Support (Red Hat)
- All Microsoft Visual Studio Extensions
Extensions can be free, preview, or paid. Paid extensions are often charged per user per month. Preview extensions are eventually converted to paid extensions. Extensions are either written by Microsoft, third party vendors, or individual developers.
More information can be found at code.visualstudio.com/docs/extensions/overview.
dbatools.io – PowerShell scripts for SQL Server
The open source dbatools.io project allows you to download free PowerShell scripts or cmdlets to help with various SQL Server tasks. A list of current commands is available at dbatools.io/commands. A keyword search can be done at docs.dbatools.io.
Microsoft PowerShell Core 6.0 runs on multiple platforms
On January 10th 2018, Microsoft announced the release of a new product: PowerShell Core 6.0. PowerShell Core is open-source, built on top of .NET Core (CoreCLR) and runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
More information is available here.