Community Blog

New functionality in 7.5:

	Side-by-Side Installation: Each new version of Quest SQL Optimizer for Oracle can be installed in a new directory, so that you can have the current and previous versions installed.
	Redesigned Tuning Lab: The Tuning Lab module was completely redesigned with a new user interface that has been simplified and is easier to use. It was renamed to Optimize SQL.
	Optimization Enhanced: The optimization process in the Optimize SQL module now returns each alternative SQL statement as soon as it is generated. This means that if you cancel the optimization process you will have the SQL alternatives that have been generated thus far.
	Rewrite SQL and Execute simultaneously: In the Optimize SQL module, the execution of the original SQL and the alternatives can now be automatically started during the optimization process so that you can complete the SQL generation and testing process more quickly. You can also stop a lengthy optimization process if one of the first alternatives gives you satisfactory performance improvement.
	Intelligence selection of SQL alternatives to execute: A new feature was implemented in the Optimize SQL module that will select one SQL alternative to execute from each group of SQL alternatives whose plan cost is determined to be within the same cost group. The SQL alternatives that are selected from the plan cost groups are executed before the rest of the SQL alternatives. The Execution order for SQL option enables you to use this Intelligence order or you can select Plan cost to execute the SQL alternatives in order of the lowest plan cost to the highest cost. By executing one SQL from each group first, you increase the likelihood that you will find a faster alternative quickly because SQL statements with similar costs tend to have similar performance.
	Unicode Support in the Optimize SQL module: The Optimize SQL module now supports Unicode. The Batch Optimize, Inspect SGA, and Scan SQL already supported Unicode. Analyze Impact, Advise Indexes, and Manage Outlines modules do not support Unicode.
	New Scanner Option: The Automatically start scanning SQL when a job is added option enables you to have the Scan SQL jobs automatically scanned after you have added them to the Scanner group.
	64-bit Operating Systems: You can now use Quest SQL Optimizer on computers running 64-bit Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows Vista.
	Login Script: An option was added on the General | General Options page so that you can create a script that will be executed when you connect to a database.
	New Batch Optimize Option: The Cancelation Delay option was added to the SQL Termination Criteria options in the Batch Optimize module. This option enables you to specify how many additional seconds are added to the termination time used to stop the execution of a SQL alternative. It enables you to account for the delay in sending the execute command to the server due to network traffic because the application is running in a client/server environment.
	Run Results: The Run Results function in the Optimize SQL module no longer sends the SQL statement to another program (Toad or SQL Navigator). Instead it executes the SQL statement within the program and displays the results.

New functionality in 7.4.1:

	Installer and Program Startup: The process of checking to see if Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2 for .NET Framework 2.0 is installed on the computer was removed from the Installation program. The start-up process for Quest SQL Optimizer for Oracle now checks to see if Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2 is installed on computers running Window 2000, 2003, or XP Professional.
	New: A user guide can be found in the installation directory which by default would be this directory: C:\Program Files\Quest Software\Quest SQL Optimizer for Oracle\Documentation\QuestSQLOptimizerForOracle-UserGuide.pdf.
	Installation Update : After the program is installed by a user with the Admin privilege, a limited user can now start the program instead of receiving an error when double-clicking the executable file.

New functionality in 7.4:

	New: Jobs in the Batch Optimizer are now grouped together in batches. This enables you to have several batches whereas previously all jobs were grouped together.
	New: Two new options were added to the General | Options page: Create new batch when SQL is sent from other applications and Launching Quest SQL Optimizer from other applications
	New: Two new options were added to the Tuning Lab | Execution | Execution Criteria page: Cancel execution by the fastest SQL run time and Cancel execution by the user defined time.
	New: A new option was added to the Tuning Lab | Execution | Execution Criteria page: Original SQL using second run time - All others twice only if the original runs faster than.
	New: A new option was added to the Tuning Lab | Execution | Auto Execution page: Number of SQL alternatives to select as the representatives
	New: A new option was added to the General | SQL Classification page: INDEX FAST FULL SCAN.
	New: The Group Summary report in the SQL Scanner provides statistics and charts of all the jobs scanned within the group.
	You can now browse through the data of a table, analyzes tables used in a SQL statement, reorganize indexes, and retrieve results of the SQL statement from within the Tuning Lab.
	In the Batch Optimizer, the default settings for SQL to automatically optimize and the Auto Execution options were changed.
	The Outline Manager is no longer displayed when you launch Quest SQL Optimizer. You may select to display and use this module from the Outlines Options page: Show Outline Manager setting.

New functionality in 7.3:

	New: Report and Mark Best SQL Alternative buttons were added to the Tuning Lab toolbar.
	New: In SQL Scanner, you can extract SQL from a Performance Analysis SQL repository.
	New: Added a new Scanner option: Skip end of line continuation character which removes a continuation character at the end of each physical line.
	New: Added a new General option: Select to use Batch Optimizer or Tuning Lab by default to optimize SQL sent from other applications so that you can send SQL to the Tuning Lab or the Batch Optimizer when from other Quest applications.
	New: Added a new General option: Specify the plan table used to retrieve the execution plan so that you can select your own execution plan table.
	When a SQL statement or text is sent from another Quest product, the Oracle logon password is sent along with the other connection information.
	You can connect to Oracle using Oracle Easy Connect.
	The Status column and the Action for User Column were combined into one Status column in the Batch Optimizer.
	Renamed the Tuning Lab/Execution/Execution Criteria option Cancel scenarios that exceed the original SQL run time by (%) to Cancel execution at this percentage of the original SQL run time. This options now allows you to enter a value less than 100% so that you can set the termination time to stop the SQL alternatives when they reach a certain percentage faster than the original SQL.
	Renamed the Tuning Lab/Execution/Execution Criteria option Do not cancel unless execution exceeds to Cancelation delay (seconds). The function of this option was also changed. In previous versions, it set a minimum run time for the SQL statements. Now it adds a few seconds to the termination time to account for the time delay in network communication when sending the start and termination commands to the server.

New functionality in 7.2:

	Re-organized the Batch Optimizer Options
	New: Batch Optimizer Report
	New: Allow you to specify a different connection for execution in the Batch Optimizer
	Added links to the Community and Toad World
	Added more statistics to the Replacement script window in the Batch Optimizer
	New: New function to send a SGA Inspector Job to the Batch Optimizer
	Automatically import the Toad Studio connection profile so no need to re-enter the connection profile in SQL Optimizer
	New: New function to Test for Scalability in the Batch Optimizer
	New: SQL Classification definitions
	New: Vista Support 32-bit Support

New functionality in 7.0:

	Changed product name to 'Quest SQL Optimizer for Oracle'
	Standalone product with new standalone main window
	Enhanced SQL Scanner UI and workflow
	Enhanced SQL Inspector UI and workflow (removed Visual Inspector window)
	New: Deploy Outline UI and workflow moved to inside Tuning Lab
	New: Batch Optimizer module
	New: Oracle 10g Instant Client support
	Enhanced SQL Scanner algorithm to combine embedded and SCLD scanning
	Cross Index Analyzer, Plan Change Analyzer, and Stored Outline Manager are launched in-process under the main standalone window
	Added Community Link to Home page
	Renamed modules from: Cross Index Analyzer to Global Indexing Plan Change Analyzer to Impact Analyzer SQL Inspector to SGA Inspector Stored Outline Manager to Outline Manager