I hope to be able to use SSDT (SQL Server Data Tools) to put our database schema under version control. Importing a database into an SSDT project in Visual Studio creates a nice textual representation of the database schema, suitable for versioning.
Now, the question is, when changes are made to the database schema - how can we programmatically, or from the command line, update (or re-import) the SSDT project?
You can use the built-in schema compare tool to do this, but it seems that you are not developing the way SSDT database projects want you to. It's designed for offline editing, which means you need to first edit the .sql files in your project, and use F5 to deploy to your dev DB for testing.
If you'd prefer to keep working connected, you might want to try SQL Change Automation, a tool we offer here at Redgate. This has a one-click import option that automates the pulling down of database changes to your database project.
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We have an existing SQL Server database, and I'd like to create a Visual Studio database project for it and put some of the scripts for the stored procedures in that database in source control. So, I thought I would create a new database project. Is there a way I can wire up this database project to the database? I thought it might be "Add Database Reference", but that only gives me options to use some other database project in the current solution, not set up the current project to be connected to an actual database.
Ideally, I'd like to be able to right-click on my project and do a "Publish" and have all my database info prefilled. I realize that I might be thinking of this wrong, but searching around on the web is of little help. It is surprising how poorly these concepts are documented.
EDIT: After the first answer, maybe my question really is: How can I have only a part of a database managed in a database project? I had assumed this was an ordinary thing that people did all the time with database projects, but maybe not. In my case, I would like to have only some of the stored procedures in source control.
After further reasearch, it seems the answer is, "no, there is no way" to have only a part of a database managed in a database project.
I'm using vs 2013 but i think this is valid back VS 2008
Right click database project.
Then choose -> import -> database.
Setup a connection to your target database.
When you import select the import setting Folder structure Schema\Object type
And run the wizard.
This builds a folder structure containing sql script for your schema objects.
Alternatively if you have sql data tools you could run the schema compare against a blank project.
We originally dismissed using database projects in conjunction with TFS as our solution for our deployment and soucecontrol needs. However, in the interest of thoroughness, I'm exploring and prototyping it.
I've set up my database project (with add to source control checked). I've checked in the changes. Now, where do you develop from?
I've tried ...
connecting to the remote development server to make changes
syncing schema to (localdb)\Projects and making changes there
directly in the Source Control Explorer
With option 1 and 2 I don't see an automated way to add code to source control. Am I suppose to be working in the Source Control Explorer? (this seems a little silly)... Is there a way to commit the entire solution to source control? My apologies in advance, I'm a database developer and this concept of a "solution" is very foreign to me.
Also there were a lot of chatter about Visual Studios doing a lot of ugly things in the back ground that turned a lot of development shops off of database projects. Can someone share your experiences with me? Some of the pitfalls and gotchas.
And yes, we have looked at Redgate SourceControl (very nice tool).
Generally people do one of two things:
Develop in Visual Studio, via the Solution Explorer. Just open the project like you would any other project, add tables, indexes, etc. You even get the same GUI for editing DB objects as you get in SSMS. All changes will automatically be added to TFS Pending changes (just like any other code change), and can be checked in when you're ready.
Deploy the latest DB (using Publish in VS) to any SQL Server, make your changes in SSMS, then do a Schema Compare in Visual Studio to bring your changes back into your DB project so they can be checked into TFS.
I've been using DB projects for many years and I LOVE them! Every developer I've introduced them to, refuses to develop without them from that point on.
I'm going to explain you briefly how we use DB projects with TFS.
We basically have one DB already done and if we require any changes or new tables we create them or alter them directly in SQL Server (each developer has its own dev SQL Server).
Then in VS from the SQL Server Object Explorer we drag the tables we want into the DB project so when we check in the changes, every user in TFS would be able to get them and then publish that project that will generate and execute a script into the DB.
This is the way we use to develop when we need to add specific tables or records to the DB so we don't have to send emails with scripts or have them stored in an specific location (even with source control). This way we can get latest version of the project and publish it to ensure we have the latest DB version although it requires the user (who made the changes) to add them to the DB project.
Other way could be to do all the changes (and can be done without any problem) directly in the DB project and then publish it. That one would be a more right way to do it so you do all the changes directly in a source controlled project, but as you know, is always more comfortable to work directly through the SQLMS.
Hope this helps somehow.
We use the SSDT tools and have implemented the SQL Server Database Project Type to develop our databases:
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/data-center/auto-deploy-and-version-your-sql-server-database-with-ssdt/
The definition of database objects and peripheral SQL Code (e.g. functions, sprocs, triggers etc) sit within the Visual Studio project and all changes are managed through VS. The interface is very similar to SSMS and, at this point doesn't cause any issues.
The benefits of this approach for us are as follows:
An existing SQL database can be imported into the SQL Server Project and managed through Visual Studio.
SQL object definitions & code can managed through the same version control system as the rest of the application code.
SQL Code can be checked for errors within Visual Studio in much the same way as you'd check your C# / VB for compilation / reference errors.
You can compare database schema's (within Visual Studio) between environments and easily identify key changes that you need to be aware of.
The SQL project can be compiled into a DACPAC file for automating deployment to different servers using a CI / Build Server (using the sqlpackage.exe utility without any custom scripts or code).
In essence developers can have a local version of the database to work on but would manage any changes through VS, then publish the changes to their local database. Once the changes are complete, the changes are committed to your version control system and then built centrally & automatically through a CI / Build server to ensure that all changes integrate and play nicely in much the same way that your other code is.
Hope that helps :)
I'm currently in the process of redesigning our department's source control strategy using Team Foundation Server (TFS) in regard to database objects. Essentially, we store nothing in TFS at this time. I have discovered SSDT and really enjoy their integration within Visual Studio and think it will make our transition into TFS much easier.
So, Does SSDT have the capability of generating scripts based on the delta's of my SSDT project verses what is in our server? It seems from what I have researched, I will only be able to generate an entire database script.
Requirements (Mind you, our developers do not have ddl access to production):
I cannot drop a database to re-create it
I cannot drop ALL objects like all stored procs to re-create them but only what I need
Tables will need to be altered not dropped and only what has changed
Dacpac's are out of the question
Our best option based on our environment at this time is to use scripts for updates
Our database environment is currently SQL Server 2008 R2. My SSDT version is the latest 2013 that was published in June.
Yes, if you do a publish from the project you will pretty much meet all of these requirements, though dacpacs are built as part of the process. The schema compare and pre/post deploy scripts are stored in the dacpac and the publish reads what "should" be present against what is currently in the database. It then generates a change script of all necessary changes to bring the database in line with the project.
Make sure you use the Refactor/Rename when renaming objects - that will cut down on the table drop/recreate operations. You may want to be careful with the "Drop objects not in the project" options. If you haven't been careful with making sure all objects created in your production server are in your project, you could accidentally drop something important just because someone didn't get it checked in.
There are command lines to the SQLPackage command that can generate change detail reports and scripts that you can use. The scripts need to be run through SQLCMD or in SQLCMD mode, but you can definitely produce scripts pretty easily.
We are starting a new BI project in our company. We have at least three developers working with database design and development. Our tools include Sparks EA, SQL Server 2008 EE and undetermined reporting tools. What kind of tools one can use for database version control in SQL Server? What kind of version control systems there are available for database development (managing versions of database schema, tables, stored procedures etc.)?
Visual Studio Team System includes the Database Edition features for database source control, deployment, schema comparison and more. You don't necessarily need a tool to do database versioning but if you do want a tool then VSTS is one option.
Often it's easier to export a set of scripts that would create your database from scratch, and put those in version control instead.
Then, if you want to upgrade a database to a "version" from source control, you could use a tool like SQL Compare or "Data Dude" to compare two databases (or creation scripts and a database) and apply the changes from one to the other.
We create all database changes in scripts, never use the GUI. Then save the scripts in folders that are part of our Subversion store just like any other piece of code. Since our configuration management people will not push to prod without a script, we have no rtrouble at all enforcing this. The beauty is that you have all the scripts you need for a particular change located together and those in another change not yet ready to go to prod are not pushed by accident.
We store all our SSIS packages as files as well and we store our configurations in sripts as well and push them the same way.
Should you want to do a comparison between databases to make sure nothing was missed, I highly recommend SQLCompare by Red-gate.
I need to create an entirely new Sql Server 2008 database and want to use a Database Project in Visual Studio 2010 (Ultimate). I've created the project and added a table under the dbo schema.
The table .sql is shown only as plain text, though with colors. It has no designer, no Add Column, and no autocomplete. Existing column's properties are grayed out.
Usually, I use DB Project for nothing more than storing .sql files for source control purposes, but I'm assuming it can help me with designing the DB. Currently, it offers no such help and I think it's because I'm doing something wrong. Perhaps I need to deploy the DB to server first, or something of the such. I've looked for a Getting Started guide, but all guides I found start from importing an existing database.
Please help my understand what a DB Project can do for me and how.
Thanks,
Asaf
The whole idea of the VSTS DB is to get you set on the right path, ie. store database object definitions as .sql files, not as some fancy diagram. Any modification you do to the objects you do it by modifying the SQL definition. This way you get to do any modification to the objects, as permitted by the DDL syntax, as opposed to whatever the visual-designer-du-jour thinks you can and can't do. Not to mention the plethora of SQL code generation bugs associated with all designers out there.
The closes to a visual view is the Schema View, which shows tables, columns, indexes etc in a tree view and you can see the properties from there.
By focusing the development process and the Visual Studio project on the .sql source files, teams can cooperate on the database design using tried and tested source control methods (check-out/check-in, lock file, conflict detection and merge integration, branching etc).
the deliverable of a VSTS DB project is a the .dbschema file, which can be deployed on any server via the vsdbcmd tool. This is an intelligent deployment that does a a schema synchronization (merge of new object, modifies existing ones) and can detect and prevent data loss during deployment. By contrast, the 'classical' way of doing it (from VS Server eExplorer, or from SSMS) the deliverable was the MDF file itself, the database. This poses huge problems at deployment. The deployment of v1 is really smooth (just copy the MDF, done), but as soon as you want to release v1.1 you're stuck: you have a new MDF, but the production is running on its own MDF and does not want to replace it with yours, since it means data loss. Now you turn around and wish you have some sort of database schema version deployment story, and this is what VSTS DB does for you from day 0.
You might be better off downloading the SQL Server Management Studio for SQL Server 2008 Express - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796
Using this tool you can create your database using the visual tools provided by that software. You can run your .sql script to build up the database and then visually adjust columns settings, table relationships, etc.
Once you have your database designed open up Visual Studio and open a connection to this database using the Server Explorer.
Visual Studio is ok for simple tweaks and changes to an existing database structure but for anything serious like making the database from scratch I would recommend using the Management Studio. It's free and built for that exact purpose :)