Czech startup SQLdep is hoping to simplify database changes and troubleshooting with its code analytics tool.
SQLdep's founders wrote the first line of code about two years ago, and like so many startups the idea for founding the company came from personal experience.
"I was part of the data warehousing team at a bank and had wasted months of my life just doing SQL code analysis. When I got the opportunity, I quit and we started coding," said Martin Masarik, CEO at SQLdep.
However, there were no hard feelings, since the bank (which Masarik doesn't want to identify) became SQLdep's first customer.
SQLdep's tool automatically analyzes and maps a database's lineage, which describes how different parts are related and what impact they have on each other. Knowing the data lineage helps prevent problems when changes are made and, if something goes wrong, speeds up the troubleshooting.
"If you have a column in the database and you realize that the data in it is corrupted, you need to understand how the data got in and how the data has spread. That's what we visualize," Masarik said.
Once SQLdep has looked at the code, users can choose between a query view, a column view, a table view, and an impact analysis view. The code analysis functionality can also be used to document data warehouse ETL (extract, transform and load) processes.
At the moment, SQLdep is mostly focused on Oracle's database, because it dominates the data warehousing market. But the company's tool can also help analyze Microsoft's SQL Server, Teradata and Redshift from Amazon Web Services.
Even though the tool is still a beta version, SQLdep feels it's mature enough to start charging for it. There are packages to choose between: Basic for US$10 per month per user, Professional for $20 per month and last but not least the Platinum version, which doesn't have a fixed price tag.
"We have a few early adopters of the tool, and they all use the Platinum version," Masarik said.
Any company that has a database with more than a 1,000 lines of SQL code is a potential customer.
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