Product learning

Posts by

Phil Factor

Phil Factor (real name withheld to protect the guilty), aka Database Mole, has 30 years of experience with database-intensive applications.

Despite having once been shouted at by a furious Bill Gates at an exhibition in the early 1980s, he has remained resolutely anonymous throughout his career.

He is a regular contributor to Simple Talk and SQLServerCentral.

Phil Factor

20 November 2019

Phil Factor

20 November 2019

Deploying Data and Schema Together with SQL Compare or SQL Change Automation

You want to use SQL Compare or SQL Change Automation (SCA) to create or update a database, and at the same time ensure that its data is as you expect. You want to avoid running any additional PowerShell scripting every time you do it, and you want to keep everything in source control, including... Read more

Phil Factor

30 October 2019

Phil Factor

30 October 2019

Using Custom Deployment Scripts with SQL Compare or SQL Change Automation

Phil Factor describes how custom pre- and post-deployment scripts work, when doing state-based database deployments with SQL Compare or SQL Change Automation, and how you might use them to, for example, add a version number to the target database, specify its database settings, or stuff data into some tables. Read more

Phil Factor

24 October 2019

Phil Factor

24 October 2019

SQL Clone PowerShell Scripting: The Basics

Phil Factor demonstrates some simple examples of how to use SQL Clone's PowerShell library to pass objects between cmdlets, and simplify common tasks, such as creating and deploying clones from various images. He then documents the objects and cmdlets, and illustrates their inputs and outputs. Read more

Phil Factor

21 October 2019

Phil Factor

21 October 2019

Unwrapping, Unboxing and Installing SQL Clone

If you are evaluating a tool such as a text editor or spreadsheet, it is easy: you just install it, you run it, you decide whether you need it. Job done. However, a similar 'unboxing' or 'unwrapping' of SQL Clone, and installing across a network, is not so quick and easy. Phil Factor's solution... Read more

Phil Factor

7 October 2019

Phil Factor

7 October 2019

Recreating Databases from Scratch with SQL Change Automation

Phil Factor starts with the basics how to rebuild a set of development database from scratch, using SQL Change Automation, and then demonstrates how to check for any active sessions before rebuilding, import test data using BCP, and secure passwords if connecting to the target with SQL Server credentials. Read more

1 October 2019

1 October 2019

Using the SQL Compare command line with Argfiles

Phil Factor demonstrates how using XML argfiles to pass parameters to SQL Compare cuts out a lot of the tedious scripting involved in modifying a database schema comparison and deployment process, as required for each target database. Read more

Phil Factor

23 September 2019

Phil Factor

23 September 2019

Automating Schema Comparisons with SQL Compare Projects and PowerShell

A simple way of automating SQL Server database schema comparison and deployment tasks for multiple databases, by saving the options and configuration settings for each deployment in a project file and executing them from a PowerShell script. Read more

Phil Factor

18 September 2019

Phil Factor

18 September 2019

Comparing and Deploying SQL Server Databases using the SQL Compare Command Line on Linux or Windows

SQL Compare now includes a Linux-based command line interface (CLI), as well as a Windows-based one, for doing schema comparison and deployments of SQL Server databases. This article offers worked examples of CLI scripts for various schema comparison tasks, to get you up and running with either version. Read more

Phil Factor

11 September 2019

Phil Factor

11 September 2019

Handling Tricky Data Migrations during State-based Database Deployments

This article demonstrates how to use a 'state' approach to database source control, when the nature of the database changes cause you to hit difficulties with migrating existing data. These difficulties happen when the differences are such that it is impossible for any automated script to make the changes whilst preserving existing data. Read more

Phil Factor

6 September 2019

Phil Factor

6 September 2019

Integrating SQL Server Tools into SQL Change Automation Deployments

Phil Factor shows how to integrate use of SQL Change Automation, SSMS registered servers, SMO, and BCP to automatically build or update a database on all servers in a group. Read more

Redgate Test Data Manager

Redgate Flyway

Redgate Monitor

Overview

Protect

Automate

Monitor

Product learning

Posts by

Phil Factor

Deploying Data and Schema Together with SQL Compare or SQL Change Automation

Using Custom Deployment Scripts with SQL Compare or SQL Change Automation

SQL Clone PowerShell Scripting: The Basics

Unwrapping, Unboxing and Installing SQL Clone

Recreating Databases from Scratch with SQL Change Automation

Using the SQL Compare command line with Argfiles

Automating Schema Comparisons with SQL Compare Projects and PowerShell

Comparing and Deploying SQL Server Databases using the SQL Compare Command Line on Linux or Windows

Handling Tricky Data Migrations during State-based Database Deployments

Integrating SQL Server Tools into SQL Change Automation Deployments

Redgate Test Data Manager

Redgate Flyway

Redgate Monitor

Overview

Protect

Automate

Monitor

Posts by Phil Factor

Posts by

Phil Factor