Another tool to put in your belt is EXCEPT:SELECT * FROM table1

EXCEPT

SELECT * FROM table2

will give you all the records in table1 that do not exactly match a record in table2. It doesn't display them side-by-side, but does tell you which record(s) are different. Reverse it to get the records in table2 that do not exactly match a record in table1.

Another quick shortcut I have used is:SELECT COUNT(*) FROM table1

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM table2

SELECT COUNT(*)

FROM

(SELECT * FROM table1

UNION

SELECT * FROM table2) Combined

If all three counts are the same, the tables are identical. Again, if there are differences it doesn't tell you where they are, but it is very easy to see if there are differences.

Chad