Verifying schema in the staging databases

After deploying the schema to the target staging database, it’s important to validate the outcome at a more granular level. The Creation stage shown on the Overview screen provides a high-level summary of this process: a circular progress indicator reflects the percentage of successfully created objects, and a numeric statistic beneath it displays the total number of created objects. Progress bars beneath the main indicator display completion percentages for each object type.

While this summary offers a helpful overview, effective testing requires that every individual object in the project exists in both the source and target staging databases. SQL Tran makes it easy to examine the object-level existence status in both environments. This helps users quickly identify inconsistencies, locate missing objects, and resolve issues before testing begins.

In this section, we’ll walk through how to inspect the object-level schema presence using the Workspace screen and the Objects tree.

1. Go to the Workspace screen

Click the Workspace button in the left sidebar to open the screen.

2. Select the Objects tab

If it’s not already active, click the Objects tab on the left.

This displays a categorized tree view of all database objects in the project.

The tree is organized by object type (e.g., Tables, Views, Procedures), with each group expandable and displaying a count of successfully processed objects (e.g., > Procedures (8 of 9)).

3. Expand an object category

The object types are grouped into categories like Types, Tables, Views, Procedures, and Functions.

Click a category to expand it and reveal the objects it contains.

4. Choose a database object

Click any object from the expanded list to view its details.

5. Check the lifecycle status in the header pane

Selecting an object opens its SQL code in the editors and reveals metadata in the header pane—such as the object’s name, complexity level, and lifecycle status indicators.

For the purpose of schema verification, we’ll now focus on the Creation stage of the lifecycle.

6. Zooming in for clarity

If needed, use your browser's zoom function to enlarge the interface and better inspect the object lifecycle indicators.

7. Inspect the Creation stage indicators

The Creation stage is visualized with two side-by-side circular indicators:

• Left indicator – Shows whether the object exists in the source staging database.

• Right indicator – Shows whether the object exists in the target staging database.

A small empty circle indicates that the object is missing from the respective staging database. In contrast, a larger shaded circle with a checkmark signifies that the object exists.

In our example, the object is missing in the source staging database (the left indicator is an empty circle), while it exists in the target staging database (the right indicator is shaded with a checkmark). This is expected, as the schema was previously deployed to the target environment.

8. View the Creation stage tooltip

Hover the mouse over any part of the Creation stage to view a tooltip that describes the object’s status in the staging environments.

In this case, the tooltip confirms that the object exists only in the target staging database, reflecting the current deployment state.

Tooltips for the other lifecycle stages in the header pane are also available in the same way.

9. Check lifecycle indicators in the Objects tree

To the left of each object name in the tree are four small circular status indicators, each representing a stage in the object’s lifecycle.

The third indicator corresponds to the Creation stage and is displayed as a split circle:

• Left half – Shows whether the object exists in the source staging database.

• Right half – Indicates whether the object exists in the target staging database.

In this example, the object is missing from the source staging database, so the left half of the Creation stage indicator is empty. The right half is filled, indicating that the object exists in the target staging database.

10. View the tooltip for detailed lifecycle info

Hover over any object in the tree to display a tooltip. This shows:

• Full object name

• Lifecycle stage statuses (e.g., Parsing: OK, Translation: OK)

• Creation status:

  • Exist in source: YES/NO

  • Exist in target: YES/NO

In our example, the tooltip confirms that the object exists only in the target staging database.

11. Keeping staging information current

While these steps help verify object presence, keep in mind that SQL Tran may display outdated information in some situations:

• The metadata was never refreshed after setting up database connections.

• Schema changes were made directly in the staging databases outside of SQL Tran.

In the next section, we’ll cover how to refresh metadata to ensure SQL Tran has the latest and most accurate view of both staging environments.