Source control systems aren't exciting, and they don't come less exciting than Visual SourceSafe. Developers continue to use it but Microsoft will soon be retiring the product officially. What's the best strategy then? TFS? Not if you are looking for the most painless approach.
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One of the greatest pain-points in developing a database-driven application happens when the application is in source control,but the database isn't. When the development database is shared, the pain increases, and it is not alleviated by source control alone. Troy Hunt spells out why each database developer must have their own version of the database.
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When it comes to the subject of putting databases into source control, Troy Hunt is no shrinking violet. "Database source control is no longer negotiable". In this article, published originally in his Blog, Troy explains how to do Continuous Integration from a database that is in a Version Control System (VCS).
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So often, one sees developers doing repetitive coding in SQL Server Management Studio or Visual Studio that would be much quicker and easier by using the built-in Regular-Expression-based Find/Replace functionality. It is understandable, since the syntax is odd and some features are missing, but it is still well-worth knowing about.
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Bad things tend to happen to developments where the scripts for the database layer are left out of source control. Now that we have the means to do it properly, there are many reasons to make the database an equal partner in the development process. Troy discusses some of those reasons.
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SQL Storage Compress does just that, and encrypts as well, allowing the files associated with a live database to take much less file-space, and securing them from unauthorised access. Why would this be useful, and is it really a free lunch? Brad puts it to the test to find out.
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As a dedicated 'twitcher', Michael's eye is caught by a 'tweet' from Red Jungle. In this case, it was not an exotic species, but a user of SQL Source Control who was pleased with the way that it had saved them considerable time in the development process. Out of curiosity, Michael contacted them to find out more.
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Corrin Lakeland's busy role as a Data Manager includes supervising the work of all database development. Although he was already a keen user of SQL Compare, the arrival of SQL Source Control came as a godsend to him. He explains why.… Read more
When creating SQL Source Control, the team had to make decisions as to which source control systems the tool would support, and needed to accomodate a range of different development practices. It also had to avoid the potential problems from the fundemental differences between database builds and application builds, David and Stephanie, from the team that wrote the tool, explain what they did, and why.… Read more
In the first of a series of in-depth software reviews, Brad investigates a newcomer, SQL Virtual Restore. What does it aim to do? How does it achieve it? Why is it safe to use? What are the benefits? Brad aims to answer a range of questions fairly and squarely.… Read more
One of the more important tasks in the process of rolling out incremental developments to a multi-server production system is to double-check that all of the planned modifications, and nothing else, have been deployed. An Oracle expert, Bruce Armstrong, comes across SQL Compare for Oracle, and sees if it helps with this time-consuming task.… Read more
Often, there is a huge difference between software being easy to use, and easy to develop. When your pilot users tell you "by week three of any development project you've thrown out anything that takes time or just gets in your way", then it is time to be serious about usability, as well as quality. We decided to find out from some of those at the sharp end of the development of Red Gate's SQL Source Control.… Read more
It is scarcely surprising that it can take up to five years to release a new version of SQL Server when one understands the extent of the effort required to test it. When enterprises depend on the reliability of an application or tool such as SQL Backup, the contribution of the tester is of paramount importance. It is an interesting and enjoyable role as well, as Andrew Clarke found out by chatting to testers at Red Gate. … Read more
It started out as an experiment to try to explore different ways of creating a software tool that people would want. It ended up as a tool that Red Gate is giving away to the SQL Server community in return for the contribution to the project of so many of Red Gate's friends within the community. But was it easy to do? Bob Cramblitt and Richard Collins went to find out by talking to Tanya Joseph, who managed the project that turned the concept into a product.… Read more
Table partitioning is a valuable technique for managing very large database tables. It has always been possible with SQL Server, even if slightly cumbersome. SQL Server 7.0 introduced partitioning through partitioned views: These were combined with constraints to allow the query optimizer to remove irrelevant tables from the query plan and reduce the overall plan cost when a UNIONed view accessed multiple tables. As Barry King explains, this is still a valuable feature that works in every current version of SQL Server.… Read more
What is the best way for a Software vendor to get people to try out their tools? Is dialogue with the vendor support team an essential part of the trial? Or should the download process just be made as simple as possible? Simon Galbraith, joint-CEO of Red Gate, explains the SQL Prompt 4 download experiment.… Read more
One could be forgiven for thinking that there is little more you can do with any third-party Backup software than just ...er... backup databases. It takes a DBA who has to use such software every day in a real commercial setting to appreciate the full implications of the improvements that have been made to SQL Backup for version 6. It is the hard-working DBAs who are best-placed to judge whether it is all worth-while. So we asked DBA Shawn McGehee to give us his true thoughts on SQL Backup 6.… Read more
Sometimes, you wish you had a tool to run a software development process exactly the way you need it to run. You click your heels together and then realise that you already have the means to do it. By combining tools that can work in command-line mode, or can be automated in other ways, you can sometimes save a great deal of time and tedium. Roger Hart rummages into the SQL Toolbelt and comes up with some practical examples for providing Continuous Integration, along with the code!… Read more
An interview with William Durkin. When he has the time, William finds it useful to work as a pre-release software tester. His most recent testing work was for Red Gate's SQL Backup 6.0, just released this month. … Read more
Many SQL Server developers and DBAs have, in the past, had their own favourite diagnostic Stored Procedures for investigating blocking issues, but since SQL Server 2005, it is a good idea to use the SQL Profiler for all but the most complex problems. This has a blocked process report which can tell you what the problem is, and give a good indication as to how to correct it.… Read more
