Data Generation Plans

You can use Visual Studio Team System Database Edition to generate meaningful data for testing. You can generate random data, generate data from existing data sources, and control many aspects of data generation. For more information, see Overview of Generating Data.

To generate data, you must create and run a data generation plan that contains the information about which tables and columns you want to fill. Your plan also contains details about the amount and kind of data that you want to put in each column. You can save your plan as a file in the database project so that you can edit and reuse the plan to generate data.

The topics in this section explain the steps to create and run a data generation plan.

In This Section

• How to: Create Data Generation Plans
  Lists the steps to create a data generation plan.

• How to: Specify Tables for Data Generation
  Discusses the restrictions and requirements for what tables you can and cannot include in a data generation plan. Also lists the steps to specify tables in a data generation plan.

• How to: Specify the Number of Rows to Generate
  Lists the steps to specify how much data will be generated for each table.

• How to: Specify Columns for Data Generation
  Lists the steps to specify columns in a data generation plan.

• Specifying Details of Data Generation for a Column
  Describes how to configure data generation for a column. Describes how to set the generator for each column and how to set the data generator properties.

• How to: Preview a Data Generation Plan
  Lists the steps to preview a data generation plan. This topic helps you customize the data that is generated in each column.

• How to: Run a Data Generation Plan to Generate Data
  Lists the steps to run a data generation plan and generate data.

• Walkthrough: Creating and Running a Data Generation Plan
  Walks you through the steps to create and run a data generation plan to fill tables with random data.

Reference

Microsoft.VisualStudio.TeamSystem.Data.DataGenerator

Related Sections

• Using Standard Data Generators
  Contains links to topics that describe how to use the standard data generators, such as the integer, string, and regular expression generators.

• Creating Custom Data Generators
  Contains links to topics that describe how to use extensibility to create, register, and deploy custom data generators.