Test User Data (Fake Data)

database testing test-data
jamtoday picture jamtoday · Jan 4, 2009 · Viewed 80.8k times · Source

Where can I get, or how can I generate a large formatted collection of fake user data (names, email address, locations, etc.) that can be used for testing an application?

It can be clearly fake, this will be limited to the development server. But I'm sure anything would be better than what I could come up with.

Answer

Lance Fisher picture Lance Fisher · Jan 4, 2009

There are some tools built just for this. I've used http://www.generatedata.com/ before to generate data for MySql databases. RedGate has a nice tool to fill your SQL Server database with test data called SQL Data Generator. The RedGate tool costs about $300, but there is a free trial.

UPDATE: Faker.js is now available. It is a project built on node.js, and looks pretty comprehensive.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Mockaroo is great!

If you'd like an HTTP API of fake user data, check out Random User Generator

Related questions

How to test an SQL Update statement before running it?

In some cases, running an UPDATE statement in production can save the day. However a borked update can be worse than the initial problem. Short of using a test database, what are options to tell what an update statement will …

Read More
How to simulate a DB for testing (Java)?

I'm programming in Java and my applications are making a lot of use of DB. Hence, it is important for me to be able to test my DB usage easily. What DB tests are all about? For me, they should …

Read More
Run a single Maven plugin execution?

I thought I was an experienced Maven user, but I am having a mental block on how to do this! I've been able to use the Maven sql plugin to drop, create, and install a schema in a database via …

Read More