Kenneth Fisher discusses methods for comparing table contents:
Roll your own
Ie write one T-SQL query to compare the structure of the two tables (this one will always be the same) and another to compare the data (new each time).
Benefits
- Free.
- You get practice in writing T-SQL (yes, I’m stretching there.)
Flaws
Can take quite a bit of time to write. (Don’t forget to check for NULLs separately.)
Mistakes happen.
Performance may not be spectacular.
Good comparison. Check it out.