Re: How do you guys maintain DDL versions?

Stuart Browning <72274.2173@CompuServe.COM> wrote: >Embarcadero Technologies has just released TeamSQL/Project, a >version control and configuration management tool for SQL >databases. It handles versioning of all object types as well as >promotion hierarchies for development, test and production. >TeamSQL/Project also has DDL extraction wizards that >reverse-engineer entire databases into off-line source archive >repositories based on MKS Source Integrity and PVCS. >For more info, point your browser to www.embarcadero.com I'm curious, having never used a commercial tool for this, where their advantage lies. You can use some pretty naive Transact/SQL to generate exact (formatted) DDL, based on the existing state of the database. I have scripts that extract a complete server (master DB) definition, and scripts that extract a complete database definition, down to the triggers and permissions. Once that DDL is in text form, any version control system gives you what you need. Sybase is particularly nice in this regard: all the text of non-table objects (procedures, views, rules, defaults, triggers) is readily available, and is guaranteed to be current. [begin rant] The best repository for definitions is not in a repository --- it's should be the database itself. Anyone remember Dick Pick's philosophy in this regard? That's what makes Pick/Revelation developers so loyal; you can walk in on *any* running system, and the system itself is its own dictionary, easily queried and manipulated *like data*. [end rant]