How to use SQL Server Database Project - sql-server

Question

I am running SQL Server 2012 and VS 2010 with SSDT (SQL Server Data Tools) installed. My dev DB uses stored procs, functions, CLR objects, etc. It has a snapshot of prod data of about 500GB.
I created SQL Server Database Project and then imported the database. This created all tables, views, procs and functions files under schema names. Great stuff -- now I can do a version control just like in other VS projects, create deployments, etc. So far, so good.
But, I am confused as to what my development process should be for changing/adding procs/tables under SQL Server Database Project. It appears that any changes I make are applied to some LocalDb/Projects database and NOT to my dev database.
Am I suppose to author all my objects in that LocalDb, then Build and deploy to my dev database via Publish? I am worried about my existing tables in the dev DB since if the publish process drops and recreates tables, I will loose my prod data snapshot.
What is the right development process to follow in SQL Server Database Project?

Answer 1

Think of the source database (in your case, your database project) as being the "to be" state after deployment. When a deployment is initiated, the executable (SqlPackage.exe) compares the source with the target and generates a difference/delta script to make the target look like the source. This is why we no longer have to specify CREATE or ALTER; the tool figures it out. To answer your question about ongoing development, you can develop either way. You can develop in the project files and publish them to a common Dev database (say, if you're on a team), or you can develop in the database with tools like SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and synchronize with the project files with a schema compare (I use the latter technique because I like SSMS).
For deployment, you'll have to have SSDT installed on the machine from which you execute the deployment (SSDT ships with SQL Server 2012 and later; I don't know about SQL Server 2008). You can create scripts to simplify deployment. You'll essentially call SqlPackage.exe (it lives in x:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\nnn\DAC\bin) with an action and a source. I use Publish Profiles as well to take care of most command properties. So an example deployment might look like this:
SqlPackage.exe /Action:Publish /SourceFile:MyDatabase.dacpac /Profile:MyProfile.publish.xml
For more information:
SQL Server Data Tools Documentation
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh272686(v=vs.103).aspx
SqlPackage.exe Documentation
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh550080(v=vs.103).aspx

Answer 2

Make changes inside the VS DB project.
Deploy changes to localDB to test
Publish the database to your production server. I prefer to use Schema Compare to do this manually, but you can also publish the project via the right click --> publish menu (which will also create a publishing profile), or using command line arguments. The publish process won't drop and create tables (unless you tell it to drop & recreate the entire db).
Alternatively, in the project settings you can change the connection string to point to your production server (as pointed out in the comment). However, I recommend against this, as it will then attempt to publish to the production server every time you run a local build (F5).