Our lastest Alpha2 release of MySQL Workbench 5.2 made it pretty clear that one of our main goals for WB 5.2 is to replace the old MySQL Query Browser (QB) tool.
Even this Alpha2 release already covers most of the essential QB functionality, while at the same time removes some of the biggest limitations that the old QB tool suffers from. Here is a short list of the most important features.
MySQL Workbench 5.2 Features replacing QB
- Database Connection management
- SQL statement editor with syntax highlighting
- Edit multiple statements at the same time (scripts)
- Editable result sets for table data
- Database Schema browsing
New MySQL Workbench 5.2 Features
- Intuitive Database Connection listing on Home page and direct access to SQL Editor
- Ability to open SQL Editors for many different connections at the same time
- Instant SQL parsing and syntax error detection while typing
- Dedicated Output tab-sheet showing database server output
- Dedicated History tab-sheet showing time-sorted execution history
- Connection Info tab
MySQL Workbench 5.2 improvements (in respect to QB)
- One single, unified editor for SQL Queries and Scripts
- Multiple result sets for SQL Scripts displayed on individual tab-sheets
- No auto-commit after each execution, possibility to use SQL session variables
- Automatic limiting of number of result set rows to avoid unwanted network traffic
- More intuitive, streamlined interface
- Schema tree fetches data on demand, preventing freezes for huge catalogs
Planned Feature Additions in future Releases
- Easy to use live Catalog overview & management (in the style of the MySQL Model Page)
- Live Database Object Editors (reusing the powerful Table/View/Routine editors)
- SQL Snippets repository
- New MySQL HTTP Tunneling Connector, allowing owners of web accounts to upload a PHP page to access their database
Please give this early Alpha version a try and tell us what you think. Your ideas are very welcome!
Sidenote: If you just want to use MySQL Workbench as a schema modeling tool, stick to WB 5.1. We have not added any new modeling features in WB 5.2 yet – and as the model file format has changed – you cannot open your 5.2 models in 5.1 or 5.0 anymore.