Managing Cross-Database Object References (EI016, EI026, EI027)

Phil Factor explains cross database and cross-server references, how to find them in your code, and when it's better to avoid hard-coding these references and use synonyms instead. Read more

Creating a SQL Code Snippet in SQL Prompt and SSMS

Phil Factor's "getting started" guide for turning all your trusted and most frequently used queries into SQL code snippets. Read more

Questions about SQL Prompt you were too shy to ask

Phil Factor answers some questions you've been itching to ask about SQL Prompt, covering ranked code completion suggestions and auto-fixing SQL code smells, and suggesting where in the tool to find other nuggets of hidden treasure. Read more

SQL IntelliSense and Autocomplete in SSMS

Phil Factor reviews the major features of SSMS IntelliSense and autocomplete and then explains how SQL Prompt fills in the gaps, and how to use to use the two in tandem to 'get the best of both worlds'. Read more

Comparing Two SQL Server Databases: When, Why, and How

SQL Compare has a simple premise: it will compare the two SQL Server databases for schema differences. It will generate a script that will make the schema of a target database the same as that of the source database. This article explores all the ways this can be helpful during database development and deployment, from generating database scripts in version control, to detecting database drift, to auto-generating deployment scripts. Read more

Solving the Provisioning Problem in Database Development using Clones

When database development is described, the details often get vague when the data gets beyond spreadsheet-size. There is 'hand-waving' talk of providing databases for each developer, but little detail of how you would provision all the databases that would be needed, at the correct version and with the correct development data, and then keep them all in sync with the source code, as developers commit changes. This article explains the requirements, and how SQL Clone can meet them. Read more

Questions about SQL Change Automation that you were Too Shy to Ask

Phil Factor takes on tricky SQL Change Automation questions about database builds, migrations, deployments and releases. Read more

How SQL Prompt Improves SQL Server Database Development

Everyone knows SQL Prompt for its code completion and IntelliSense features, but a lot of its extra value comes from features that allow the development team to standardize coding practices and drive up code quality. Read more

Questions about Comparing Databases with SQL Compare that you were Too Shy to Ask

Phil Factor offers straightforward answers to tricky SQL Compare questions. Read more

Database Development with GitHub

How can you use GitHub to do team-based database development? This article proposes a process that splits development work into task-based GitHub branches, incorporates daily database builds and integration testing, and uses Redgate tools to automate tasks such as provisioning, database scripting, and testing. Read more

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