Standard Data Generator Types

Microsoft Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals includes a variety of pre-defined standard data generators. You can use the standard data generators to generate random data for columns. For example, if you have an int column, you can use the Integer data generator to create random data for the column.

Every SQL data type has a default data generator that is associated with it. The default generator is automatically assigned to columns that have a particular SQL data type when you create a data generation plan. The default generator is also assigned when you add columns to the plan. For more information, see Default Generators for SQL Server Data Types.

You can control how data is generated to fill columns by adjusting the data generation plan. You can specify the data generator that is used for each column. You can also set the properties of each data generator in each column. For example, if you have a smalldatetime column that is named birthdate, the DateTime generator is assigned by default. You can set the Max property to enforce a business rule that no employee can be younger than 18. For more information, see Specifying Details of Data Generation for a Column.

The Standard Data Generators

The following table describes the standard data generators and what kind of data they generate.

Generator	Description
Binary	Generates random binary data.
Bit	Generates a random bit value (0 or 1).
BigInt	Generates a random integer value that corresponds to the SQL bigint type.
DateTime	Generates a random SQL DateTime value.
Data Bound	Generates a value that is selected from a pre-determined data source. The data is randomly selected from the data source after the returned dataset is cached. For more information about the Data Bound generator, see The Data Bound Generator.
Decimal	Generates a random decimal value.
Float	Generates a random floating point value that corresponds to the SQL float type.
GUID	Generates a GUID that acts as a unique identifier.
Integer	Generates a random integer value
Image	Generates a random image value.
Money	Generates a random money value.
Real	Generates a random floating point value that corresponds to the SQL real type.
RegularExpression	Generates a random Unicode string that matches a predefined regular expression. For more information about this generator, see The Regular Expression Generator.
SmallInt	Generates a random integer value that corresponds to the SQL smallint type.
String	Generates a random string value. The string is Unicode or non-Unicode, depending on the SQL data type of the column.
TinyInt	Generates a random integer value that corresponds to the SQL tinyint type.

See Also

Concepts

Overview of Generating Data
Terminology Overview of Team Edition for Database Professionals

Other Resources

Data Generation Plans
Using Standard Generators
Creating Custom Generators