If you’ve set up an Azure SQL Database, you’ll almost certainly want to connect to it at some point. You’ll probably want to connect to it, and then run a bunch of SQL queries, just like you would do if you had SQL Server installed locally or across the network.
Fortunately, connecting to Azure SQL Database is relatively straight forward. Let’s look at two options for connecting via a Mac: SQL command line tools and VS Code.
Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is an excellent tool for connecting to Azure SQL Database and managing data right from within your development environment. With a few simple steps, you can run queries, explore tables, and integrate database tasks into your development workflow.
This article walks you through connecting to Azure SQL using VS Code.
mssql-tools is a command-line utility developed by Microsoft that provides tools for interacting with Microsoft SQL Server environments. It includes sqlcmd for executing Transact-SQL (T-SQL) queries and scripts, and bcp (Bulk Copy Program) for importing and exporting large volumes of data. These tools can be useful when you want to manage SQL Server directly from the terminal without relying on graphical interfaces.
One cool thing about mssql-tools is that it’s cross-platform. It can be installed on macOS, Linux, and Windows machines. This makes it ideal for modern development environments, especially when working with cloud-based solutions like Azure SQL Database.
In this article, we’ll look at how to install mssql-tools on a Mac and use it to connect securely to an Azure SQL Database.
DuckDB has enhanced its user experience with the introduction of a new web-based user interface in the v1.2.1 release. This addition brings graphical interaction capabilities to the analytical database system, making it more accessible to users who prefer visual interfaces over command-line operations.
As an Azure Data Studio user, I was surprised when an alert popped up informing me that Azure Data Studio (ADS) is being retired on February 28, 2026. The message included a link to Microsoft’s recent announcement.
Microsoft now recommends we transition to Visual Studio Code (VS Code) instead.
Here are two ways you can use SQLcl or SQL*Plus to check your Oracle Database compatibility level.
When using SQLcl to run queries against Oracle Database, you can specify the output of the query results using the following two options:
SET SQLFORMAT commandWhen using SQLcl to query Oracle Database, you can use the SET SQLFORMAT command to determine the format of the results.
You can also use inline comments to specify the format from directly within your query.
You can do this to export your query results to a CSV file when using SQL Developer to query Oracle Database.
In 2020, Apple introduced Mac computers with Apple silicon, with the first chip being the Apple M1.
This was a major change, and it affected many third party applications to the point where they simply don’t run on the M1 Mac.
One application that doesn’t run on M1 Macs is VirtualBox. Prior to the M1 Mac, we could use VirtualBox to install Windows on our Mac. VirtualBox is a free virtualisation application that enables you to install virtual machines (with other operating systems) on your Mac.
Fortunately, there’s a free alternative to VirtualBox – UTM.
