SqlTran

SqlTran is a database conversion tool that will allow you to easily convert SQL Server to MySQL or MySQL to SQL Server.

• State of the art semantic parsers enable SqlTran to truly understand your code
• Able to connect to your source and target databases and create a perfect copy in another database engine
• Handles tables, indexes, foreign keys, views, stored procedures, functions, triggers
• True function call translation: functions are mapped to native functions, parameters reordered and transformed
• Emulates source database features not available in the target database (where theoretically possible, SqlTran does it for you)
• Copies data using high-speed algorithms. Data creation script can be exported to file.
• Gives you full control - you can mark certain objects to be skipped, locked, or manually override the translation
• In addition to creating target database directly, you can export source and target SQL scripts

Migrating database objects
SqlTran supports translation of your whole database. The following objects are migrated:

• Tables - including indexes on them, and foreign key constraints
• Views
• Procedures
• Functions
• Triggers
• Table data, including long text and binary fields

Migrating data
Table data is migrated using advanced algorithms, enabling SqlTran to handle even the largest databases. SqlTran copies data at full speed with low memory footprint, even if the database size is measured in terabytes. Instead of loading whole tables into memory, then transforming the data for correct output, SqlTran processes data in small chunks, while taking advantage of primary and unique keys to fetch data in fastest possible way without putting strain on the source database server.

How does translation work?
SqlTran has advanced SQL code parsers, which parse and tag thousands of lines of your SQL code per second. Spectral Core have built an advanced translator engine on top of these parsers. This means that a medium-size database is parsed and translated in just a few seconds. The parsers and translators are so fast, SqlTran translates all your database objects each time you load the saved project. SqlTran will read your database code and metadata by connecting to a live source database server, or by reading it from a provided SQL script. It then goes through each and every database object definition, analyzing each statement, expression, variable declaration, exception handling, etc. For each statement one or more statements are generated in native target database format, which achieves the same thing. Things get much more complex internally, of course, as each database has its own set of rules.

What if we want to customize the translation?
In cases where a specific code construct is not supported for automatic translation, or you simply have to rewrite non-portable code, you can mark any number of database objects as manually overriden. In that case, you are free to change the generated SQL code, and SqlTran won't touch your changes. You can even save your changes as complete or incomplete, so when the target database is generated, incomplete changes can be skipped. Of course, you can also choose to skip any objects you don't need in the target.

What is the average percentage of automatic translation?
This depends on the style of programming source database programmers have. There are some code constructs which can't be translated, nor emulated using alternative SQL statements. While the translator is powerful enough to enable SqlTran to do all the translation theoretically possible, it can't make the target database do something it isn't designed to do. Typical automatic translation success is 95%-100% using version 1.0 of SqlTran and this percentage will grow over time.

What to do if SqlTran doesn't translate something we need?
There are two scenarios for this.

• In the first case, code construct can and should be handled by the translator, but is currently not supported. SqlTran however has made it very easy for you to send your translation project and describe the problem so that Spectral Core's developers can take a look and upgrade the application to handle your case.
• You used totally non-portable code. You queried system tables or server parameters for which there is no equivalent in the target database. To succesfully translate that, programming logic has to be significantly altered. If you need assistance with that then you can get Spectral Core's developers to do that for you. The cost for this work depends on the complexity of your code and amount of work involved.