69 posts from: Data Dude
DefaultDataPath
(Indexed 2009-12-01):
VSDB uses the the ($DefaultDataPath) SQLCMD variable to represent the location where you would place your data and log file of your database. The deployment engine sets the value of SQLCMD variable by querying SQL Server using the following query: 1:...(read more)[Image]
SQL Server 2008 R2
(Indexed 2009-11-24):
Now that SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP is available, I found some time to install it and test the existing Visual Studio 2008 Team System Database Edition GDR R2 release with it. The only thing that is really different from a SQL Server point of view...(read more)[Image]
NESQL Presentation Declarative Database Development
(Indexed 2009-09-14):
Last week, September 10, I was invited by the New England SQL Server User Group to present about my favorite topic Declarative Database Development . I posted the slides of the presentation at DBProj.com . GertD @ www.DBProj.com...(read more)[Image]
SqlCmdVars.exe
(Indexed 2009-08-02):
This post announces the availability of a small helper utility that will allow you to maintain your database.sqlcmdvars files from a command line tool. Description: What is the scenario? If you are using vsdbcmd.exe to deploy your schema, you include...(read more)[Image]
Agile Database Techniques
(Indexed 2009-07-09):
I am happy to announce that there is a new class dedicated to VSDB. Agile Database Techniques , is a 3-days course that provides students with the knowledge and skills to properly manage the SQL Server database development lifecycle in an agile environment....(read more)[Image]
DBSchema file for SQL LiteSpeed XPs
(Indexed 2009-06-11):
Based on a customer request I created a .dbschema file which contains the definitions of all the extended stored procedures used by SQL LiteSpeed 5.0 that live inside the master database. Since schema import does not import the definition of extended...(read more)[Image]
System Objects in TEMPDB
(Indexed 2009-06-10):
Today a user send me a question how to resolve reference of system objects inside tempdb? My first thought was this should get resolved by loading the master.dbschema file. However this did not resolve the issue, so time to ask for an example, which slightly...(read more)[Image]
SQL Connections Slides and Demo Posted
(Indexed 2009-03-26):
It was great to be able to meet many new users of the Database Edition product at the SQL Connection Spring 2009 conference this week. Thank you for attending the sessions. There were lots of great questions, critical feedback and input for new features...(read more)[Image]
Up to SQL Connections Spring 2009 (Orlando, FL)
(Indexed 2009-03-20):
Next week I will be presenting at SQL Connections in Orlando where I will be covering some fun topics on DataDude and general SQL Server. Here is the list. SQL Connections Spring 2009 (Orlando, FL) SDB413: Automating Database Deployment Do you have a...(read more)[Image]
Must Read MSDN Magazine Article
(Indexed 2009-02-25):
Jamie Laflen and Barclay Hill wrote a great, must read article for MSDN Magazine, detailing the Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR functionality. Besides that it has a great intro describing the base principles of offline database schema development. Check out MSDN Magazine March 2009 [Image] Database Development Introducing New Features In The VSTS Database Edition GDR http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dd483214.aspx Enjoy the great read! -GertD [I...(truncated)...
Oracle DSP Announced
(Indexed 2009-02-24):
Today Quest Software announced that they will offer a Database Schema Provider (DSP) for Oracle that plugs in to the Visual Studio Team System 2010 release. You can read the announcement at the Quest Software website: http://www.quest.com/newsroom/news-releases-show.aspx?contentid=9102, you can find more detail, like screen shots and sign up for the beta here: http://www.teamfuze.net/index.jspa For more detail also see Terry Clancy his posting about this: http://blogs.msdn.com/terryclancy/arch...(truncated)...
Data Generator for SQL Server Sparse Columns
(Indexed 2009-02-06):
Genevieve, tester on the DataDude team, has created a new Data Generator which allows you to populate a random set of sparse columns through the use of an XML column set column. She posted it on the VS Code Gallery, http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/columnsetgenerator. -GertD PS: Dank je wel Genevieve![Image]
File Level Build Warning Suppression in the GDR
(Indexed 2009-01-11):
One of the small, but hard to discover new features in the GDR release is the ability to suppress warnings at the file level. Just to be very clear, this is suppression of build level warnings, not of static code analysis or deployment warnings! Imagine you have a procedure that references a temp table that is created either dynamically or in some other procedure. 1: CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[Procedure1] 2: AS 3: BEGIN 4: SET NOCOUNT ON 5: 6: SELECT...(truncated)...
Creating T-SQL Static Code Analysis Rules
(Indexed 2009-01-01):
One of the new features in the GDR release is that you can create your own T-SQL Static Code Analysis rules. This post will guide you through creating your first rule. Step 1: Create a new Class Library project Inside Visual Studio 2008 create a new "Class Library" project, you can use VB.NET or C#, however since I am VB.NET literate (sorry no offense) I will use C# for this example. [Image] We will name the project "SqlRule". Step 2: Add references The next step is to add...(truncated)...
Handling of COMMENTS in the GDR
(Indexed 2008-12-20):
In the GDR you will mainly find large improvements, but it is not everything is better. One area where we regressed functionality is the deployment of comments inside T-SQL procedures, triggers, functions etc. With the move to a true and only model based system, objects that are stored in dbo.syscomments or sys.sql_modules, are modeled in such a way that we separate out body script from the object name and parameters. We do this for a reason, so we when you rename an object we also update ...(truncated)...
Troubleshooting SETUP
(Indexed 2008-12-17):
This post dives in to how to troubleshoot problems when installing the Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR. Prerequisites Before installing the GDR, please check the prerequisites! Visual Studio Version & Edition: First check if you have the right Visual Studio version and edition installed. You must have one of the following Visual Studio 2008 editions installed in order to install the Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR release: Visual Studio T...(truncated)...
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR - RTM
(Indexed 2008-11-26):
Finally the moment is there, the final version of the Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR has been released to the web. Although the name "GDR", which stands for "General Redistribution Release", implies otherwise, this really is a complete new release, based on a new architecture. We have taken the architectural changes from the Rosario project (Visual Studio Team System 2010) and rolled them forward in time. Rolling forward these changes help us align the GDR release with the...(truncated)...
New VSDB Blog
(Indexed 2008-11-22):
Patrick Sirr, one of the key developers in our team started his own blog. If you want to learn about automating the project system using DTE, please check it out. His first three articles are covering: Importing multiple scripts using DTE Schema Compare using DTE Data Compare using DTE Yes, Patrick wrote all the DTE extensibility, which we heavily rely on ourselves when testing the product. -GertD[Image]
The GDR RC Is Here!
(Indexed 2008-10-27):
During my session at PDC I announce the immediate availability of the Release Candidate (RC) of Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR. We are going through the last stages of the development process and we are getting ready to release. This release candidate is the first step towards the final build! Since the September CTP we did not add any new features, we only worked on bugs and performance. The project format is final, and we do not anticipate any more changes in this area, s...(truncated)...
Partial Projects
(Indexed 2008-10-06):
The Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR release introduces two new ways on how to share information between projects, partial projects and composite projects. This blog post will go in to how to use partial projects, composite projects will be discussed in a later post. When we started talking to existing users of the current database project system and the use cases involved it became clear that many had a need to share actual implementation between different database projects....(truncated)...
Model Collation vs. Database Collation
(Indexed 2008-10-05):
When you are using the latest CTP of the GDR release, you might have noticed that we introduced a new collation, named the "model collation". However if you go to the Database.sqlsettings file, which contains all the database properties, you will also find the "Database collation" like we had this in the previous releases. What is the difference and why should you care? Model Collation Model collation if a provider agnostic project setting, this means that every provider that will be i...(truncated)...
VSDB @ PDC2008
(Indexed 2008-10-03):
If you happen to go to PDC this year, you might want to check out session TL45, "Microsoft Visual Studio Team System Database Edition: Overview". The title might not sounds that interesting but this session will be 100% dedicated to the Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR release and the extensibility abilities. We will go over the all architectural changes; how Database Schema Providers (DSPs) make this a truly heterogeneous declarative database development environment and th...(truncated)...
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR September CTP
(Indexed 2008-10-01):
The Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR September CTP is now available for download. This is the last CTP, we started our final descend, we will publish a public RC (release candidate) when it is ready, followed by the RTM release. The upcoming RC (release candidate) will be a "go-live" release. The two remaining areas the team is currently working on is performance and bugs, we are done with all work items. What is new in the September CTP (#17): The SQL Server 2008 suppor...(truncated)...
Team Developer + Team Data = Team Developer!
(Indexed 2008-09-29):
In today's press release titled: "Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 Overview" we announced the merge of the Developer Edition and Database Edition SKU's. Better Together – Visual Studio Team System Development Edition and Database Edition In recognition of the increased need to integrate more of the lifecycle members together, we will provide a unified Development and Database product in Visual Studio Team System 2010. Beginning October 1, 2...(truncated)...
REDIST
(Indexed 2008-08-22):
I got lots of questions based on my last post regarding the parser and script generator and the ability to redistribute the bits. If you own an official copy of Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR you are allowed to redistribute these bits as described in the in the redist file that we install. %ProgramFiles%Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0VSTSDBredist-enu.txt REDIST-ENU.TXT Subject to the license terms for the software, you may redistribute the files (unmodified) lis...(truncated)...
Getting to the Crown Jewels
(Indexed 2008-08-21):
The crown jewels of the Database Edition product are the SQL parsers and script generator, these two pieces form the foundation of what the database project system does internally. [Image] The parser, parses T-SQL code and turns it in to a script fragment, where the script generator takes a script fragment and turns it in to T-SQL code. This way we can roundtrip code between the two components. The script generator has the ability to format code on the way out, however there is no mode to pr...(truncated)...
VSTSDB 2008 GDR CTP16 is here!
(Indexed 2008-08-20):
The team is happy to announce that we just released CTP16, of the Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR release. We are yet another step closer to reaching the finish line which is waiting for us at PDC in Oct of this year. This release adds the following features: VSDBCMD.EXE We added independent commandline deployment and reverse engineer, which can be used on machines that do not have Visual Studio installed, in order to deploy the results of a database project bui...(truncated)...
VSTSDB GDR CTP15 and VS2008 SP1 AND SQL Server 2008 RTM
(Indexed 2008-08-20):
I received enough questions asking if the VSTDB 2008 GDR CTP15 release is supported and working in combination with the released versions Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and SQL Server 2008? And if so what the correct order of installation is? GDR CTP15 is working and supported with Visual Studio 2008 SP1 RTM and SQL Server 2008 RTM . Since VS 2008 SP1 does not know about the GDR release, the main things to keep in mind is the order of installation. When you have the GDR CTP15 installed and installed ...(truncated)...
Event Monitor
(Indexed 2008-08-17):
In part 2 of diagnosing problems I want to introduce you to an other build-in diagnostics tools that we might ask you to run with tracking down problems, the "event monitor". The event monitor is one of those tools that we use during development of the product for troubleshooting problems during development. Enabling the Event Monitor Since by default the event monitor is turned off we first need to enable it, by switch a bit in the Registry. Depending on which version you are using yo...(truncated)...
Diagnosing Problems
(Indexed 2008-08-17):
How to diagnose problem inside Visual Studio Team System Database Edition is the subject for this blog post. When the product does not behave as expected we might ask you to create a trace of the activity that you are performing and send us the resulting log file. Build-in Tracing VSDB ships with build-in tracing functionality. We ship a Registry file (.reg) which contains the settings needed to enable tracing. The "tracing.reg" file is located in the "%ProgramFiles%Microsoft Visual Studio 9....(truncated)...
CTP 15 Is Here!
(Indexed 2008-07-19):
We just released a new CTP of the upcoming 2008 update, Microsoft® Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR July CTP is here! You can download it from MSDN: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bb3...(truncated)... Most important changes: Project upgrade is now in place. For those of you who were kind enough to donate their database projects, thank you! Mixed projects are no longer supported, from now on server projects represent only server creatab...(truncated)...
PNWSQL Meeting July 9th
(Indexed 2008-06-26):
On Wednesday July 9th, I will be presenting for the Pacific Northwest SQL Server User Group. If you are in the neighborhood, feel free to join us. The meeting will be held at the Microsoft Campus, building 35. The topic du jour will be about what is in the GDR. For more info see this link: http://groups.msn.com/pnwsql/nextmeetinginfo.msnw "SQL Server Schema Development & Deployment Using DataDude vNext" The latest release of Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition, not only enables su...(truncated)...
Full day hands-on workshop @ Fall 2008 SQL Connections
(Indexed 2008-06-09):
[Image] This coming fall, we will be having a full day, hands-on workshop at SQL Connection in Las Vegas, covering the upcoming Visual Studio Team Edition 2008 Database Edition GDR release. The goal of the workshop is to get you acquainted with the new functionality and to go through a complete end-to-end database development life cycle, from setup, incubation of databases in to the system, making changes and deploying changes using the new deployment engine. Details you can find on the work...(truncated)...
DataDude Goes Multi-Platform
(Indexed 2008-06-04):
Yesterday, during Bill Gates his Tech Ed keynote, Brian Harry had the honor to show the first glimpse of the results of our partnership with IBM, DB2 support inside Visual Studio Team System Database Edition. As you might know or have read in one of my previous blog posts, we are changing the underlying architecture of the VSTS Database Edition product, to be provider based. This change enables other vendors or 3rd parties, by creating a Database Schema Provider (DSP), to start managing and depl...(truncated)...
VSTS 2008 Database Edition GDR June CTP
(Indexed 2008-06-03):
Today, at Tech*Ed 2008 Developer, we announced the immediate availability of the first public CTP of the Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR. GDR stands for General Distribution Release. The GDR will be an out-of-band release enabling support for SQL Server 2008. It also introduces the new product architecture, which for those of you who are keeping up with the code names, is work that is a direct result of the "Rosario" project. What is in the GDR? In addition to en...(truncated)...
Tech·Ed 2008 Developers
(Indexed 2008-05-29):
[Image] In case you are coming to the Developer edition of Tech·Ed next week, we have a lot of exiting things for you. As you can see below there are many sessions, hosted in both the developer and database tracks. Breakout sessions, chalk talks, panel discussions and hands-on lab, all covering Visual Studio Team System Database Edition. It all starts in BillG his keynote, where Brian Harry will show some of the partner work we have been involved in, stay tuned for more details on that...(truncated)...
Command line SQL Static Code Analysis
(Indexed 2008-02-18):
We have had a lot of requests from users asking us to make T-SQL Static Code Analysis available at build time and from the command line. The latest Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition Power Tool release, adds this ability to the product through a new MSBuild task. In this blog post I will go through the step that you need to follow to enable and use T-SQL Static Code Analysis from the command line. Step 0: Install the Power Tools You first need to install the latest Power Tools for V...(truncated)...
Database Compatibility Level
(Indexed 2008-02-17):
VSTS-DB, both the 2005 and 2008 version, makes an assumption with regards to database compatibility levels, which can cause problems in certain use cases. The assumption is that the DesignDB instance used for validation of the schema inside the project is set to a 80 compatibility level when using a SQL Server 2000 project and to 90 when you are using a SQL Server 2005 project. If you have a database schema that was migrated from SQL Server 2000 to 2005 and is relying on the fact that the dat...(truncated)...
File Bound Generator
(Indexed 2008-02-17):
An other new addition to the Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition - Power Tools release is the File Bound Generator. This data generator grovels through files inside a directory or optionally through its subdirectories, based on some search filter you provide and loads the content of the file in to a column value. The file content is either represented as text or as binary data. The generator is shared-instancing enabled, which means that the same file can be bound to multiple columns...(truncated)...
Apply Test-Driven Development to your Database Projects
(Indexed 2008-02-16):
This months issue of MSDN Magazine features a great article about how to use and extend Database Unit Testing written by Jamie Laflen who is the developer and tech lead in my team responsible for Database Unit Testing, Data Generation, SQL Code Coverage and Build & Deploy. So this information comes straight from the source! Check out: http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/08/LA/DBUnitTesting...(truncated)... -GertD[Image]
Data Generation Wizard
(Indexed 2008-02-15):
One of the new features in the Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition - Power Tools release is the addition of the Data Generation Wizard. The Data Generation Wizard is an item template wizard that allows you to create and configure a data generation plan by pointing it at an existing database, which has the same schema as the underlying database project, and configure each column inside each table with a sequential data bound generator. When finished you have a configured data generati...(truncated)...
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition Power Tools
(Indexed 2008-02-15):
The DataDude team is happy to announce the availability of the Power Tools for Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition. The Power Tools for 2008 contains all the functionality we shipped in 2005 plus: Command line SQL Static Code Analysis execution through MSBuild, this was the biggest customer request, which is why I was holding the release. This enables SQL Static Code Analysis to be an integrated part of Team Build! Data Generation Wizard; this is another customer request where we...(truncated)...
Self Referencing
(Indexed 2008-01-04):
Lately we have been getting questions about self-referencing database calls. What I mean with that is that you are referencing SQL objects using a 3-part name while referencing objects that reside inside your current database context. For example: 1: use Northwind 2: go 3: 4: SELECT * FROM Northwind.dbo.Categories 5: goJust to be clear, the use of self-referencing database calls does not add any value or functionality. In my opinion it only make the code more verbose and harder to ...(truncated)...
Cleaning up DesignDB Leftovers
(Indexed 2007-12-19):
In the "DesignDB Location" blog post I described where the design-time validation database are created. The attentive reader would have wondered when design-time validation database file get cleaned up, since we create them at project creation time and attach or re-create at project open time. So when do they get removed? The answer: DesignDB files don't get removed! So the question is how do I clean-up the files left behind? The following stored procedure is an attempt to help you with this tas...(truncated)...
DesignDB Location
(Indexed 2007-12-18):
As you might know Visual Studio Team System Database Edition uses a local SQL Server database instance to validate the correctness of the code inside the database project. When you create a project a local scratch database is create for validation purposes, when you close project the database gets detached and when you re-open the project it gets re-attached if the database file actually exist and did not change in between. If changes are detected, which is detected based on the file MD5, the da...(truncated)...
Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition
(Indexed 2007-11-21):
[Image] [Image] Now that Visual Studio 2008 is available, the question arises what has changed for Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals in the 2008 edition? Not much is the answer. Since our first release was done completely out-of-band while other teams were actively working on the Visual Studio 2008 release, our main goal was to integrate in to main Visual Studio 2008 (aka. Orcas) code base. However we did make some changes that you should be aware of. What changed: Firs...(truncated)...
External Changes...
(Indexed 2007-10-18):
What happens when you make changes outside the scope of your project? What if you edit a file inside Notepad or sync your source code from your SCC system, either from the command line or from the VS IDE? Most users assume that the project automatically get updated as soon as the file is save on the local hard disk. Simple example Lets look at a very simple example, where we make an external change to the project using Notepad. Create a new database project Add a table (by default Table1) Open...(truncated)...
SQL Connections 2007
(Indexed 2007-09-02):
[Image]Like every DevConnections conference for the last 6 years, I will be there presenting on a combination of SQL Server and Visual Studio for Database Professionals topics. On November 5th I will be hosting a full day workshop on DataDude (aka Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals). After that I will be presenting on four completely different SQL Server 2005 topics that are very dear to my hart: SQL-CLR, I/O design, SQL Server Memory Management and how to manage SQL Server us...(truncated)...
Power Tools Download Link
(Indexed 2007-08-11):
They are here! Dependency Viewer Refactoring Move Schema Expand Wildcard Fully Quality Name Refactor in to strongly typed DataSet definitions Refactor Command Generator Data Generation Sequential Data Bound Generator Editors for the Data Bound Generator, Sequential Data Bound Generator and RegEx String Generator to make configuration easier The RegEx editor also tries to interpret your CHECK CONSTRAINTs and create a matching RegEx expression that you can use to generate data values t...(truncated)...
SQL Pass Summit 2007
(Indexed 2007-08-10):
If you are planning on visiting 2007 PASS Community Summit in Denver this coming September, we have two sessions that might interest you. We start off with a full day pre-conference day dedicated to VSDBPro, followed by a break-out session on schema versioning. We are also having a focus group meeting, where we collect user feedback and input and will go over our future development plans and roadmap. [Image] Managing, Developing and Deploying your SQL Server database schemas with Visual Studio T...(truncated)...
It is August 6th?
(Indexed 2007-08-07):
So what? Or for those of you who have been paying close attention, you know that August 6th is the date I promised the first Power Tools to be released. So where are they? We are not there yet, we released the first release candidate today, I need to finish two more threat models and then we are ready to rock & roll, so it will be this week, better be because I am going on vacation for 3 weeks and I promised my boss it will be done before I leave. So please be patient a little bit longer, it wil...(truncated)...
What is in the Power Tools v1.0 release?
(Indexed 2007-08-07):
For those of you who have been paying close attention, you know that August 6th is the date I promised the first Power Tools to be released. So where are they? We are not there yet, we released the first release candidate today, I need to finish two more threat models and then we are ready to rock & roll, so it will be this week, better be because I am going on vacation for 3 weeks and I promised my boss it will be done before I leave. So please be patient a little bit longer, it will not be lon...(truncated)...
Database References
(Indexed 2007-07-27):
Service Release 1 for Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals introduces the concept of "database references" which allows you to represent and resolve 3 and/or 4-part name usage inside a database project. Database references are conceptually the same as assembly references inside a C# or VB.NET projects; they allow you to reference objects from your database project that live inside an other namespace (database). Database references can be established between two or more database ...(truncated)...
VSDBPro Tech*Ed 2007 Sessions Available Online
(Indexed 2007-07-26):
The VSDBPro sessions that we presented at Tech*Ed 2007 this June are now available online. You can watch the recorded sessions online (slides and demos with audio feed) or download the WMV and/or PPT files for offline consumption. DAT317: Database Schema Versioning: How to Use Microsoft Visual Studio Team System for Database Professionals and Team Foundation Server to Version and Deploy Your Databases Gert DrapersCome hear how Visual Studio Team System for Database Professionals is changing the ...(truncated)...
Test-Driving Stored Procedures in SQL Server in VS2008
(Indexed 2007-07-20):
Cory Foy has written a great blog post about using Database Unit Testing in Visual Studio 2008 (a.k.a. Orcas), but don't be fooled you can do all of this today in Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals v1.0. Please check out his blog post, it is a great read. http://www.cornetdesign.com/2007/07/test-driving-stored-proc...(truncated)... -GertD[Image]
Table structure changes
(Indexed 2007-07-12):
I often receive questions about how we propagate changes to table structure in Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals (VSDBPro)? When you allow users to make arbitrary schema changes, the problem is that they expect miracles to happen when these need to be deployed. We are trying very hard to make life as easy as possible, but we are restricted in what we can do at deployment time based on the underlying support provided by the database. So lets go back to the basics for a moment...(truncated)...
Changing Database Ownership
(Indexed 2007-07-05):
In today's version it is not possible to model the ownership of the database you are deploying towards. The ownership is determined based on the person who creates the initial database, SQL Server inherits the information from the security context of the session that invokes CREATE DATABASE. So if you execute CREATE DATABASE from a sessions under the security context of a Windows authenticated user, say MyDomainMyUser, the database is owned by this user; if you execute the command under the cont...(truncated)...
Which 3rd party databases to support?
(Indexed 2007-07-03):
As you might know the team is working very hard on the next release of Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals, which is be part of upcoming the Visual Studio Team System "Rosario" release. One of the things we are doing in the Rosario timeframe, is converting our current implementation to a provider based model. In Rosario we are introducing the concept of Database Schema Providers (DSP's for short), which will allow partners to plug in support for 3rd party database in to VSDBPr...(truncated)...
TechEd 2007
(Indexed 2007-06-04):
In case you are wondering, we will be there! Not only are we presenting sessions, we are in the hand-on labs area and doing chalk talks and we are at the booth ready to answer your questions. At the booth we are also showing Service Release 1 and the Power Tools. So what are we presenting? DAT317 - Database Schema Versioning: How to Use Microsoft Visual Studio Team System for Database Professionals and Team Foundation Server to Version and Deploy Your Databases Monday, June 4 10:30 AM - 11:4...(truncated)...
Public CTP of VSDBPro Service Release 1 is NOW available (KB936202)
(Indexed 2007-05-04):
Or should I say is finally available. Anyhow here it is; the public first and last public CTP of the Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals first Service Release. What is in it? 3+4 part name resolution through a new feature called "database references" File groups and files are now part of the project settings and can e fully parameterize then to fit your deployment needs (this replaces the need for the storage deployment script) SQLCMD variable support; this is enable through...(truncated)...
2-Day DataDude Workshop
(Indexed 2007-05-01):
On June 11 and 12, I will be giving a 2-day Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals workshop in the Netherlands. The events will be hosted by Class-A, see Anko Duizer his blog post announcing the event. The agenda for the 2-day workshop looks like this: Architecture Overview Parsing and Interpreting Schema Objects The role of the Design Validation Database Setup System requirements Installing Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals Creating a database projects ...(truncated)...
Announcing Service Release 1
(Indexed 2007-03-22):
[Image] Customer Driven I am happy to announce that first Service Release of Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals is in the works and will be available in the second quarter of CY 2007. In this service release we are addressing issues that were found by our customers as well as three bigger areas that we wanted to address based on the continuous feedback from users. As our customer you have been great in providing detailed feedback and submitting issues via the Microsoft Co...(truncated)...
Visual Studio 2005 SP1
(Indexed 2007-02-28):
As you probably know by now "Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite Service Pack 1" is available for a while now. The question: In which order if any should you install Visual Studio 2005 SP1 in combination with Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals? The answer: You will need to install or re-install Visual Studio SP1 after you installed Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals. Why? Most components that are part of VS DB Pro are fine, since they never shipped befo...(truncated)...
SQL Server 2005 SP2
(Indexed 2007-02-19):
Service pack 2 for SQL Server 2005 is ready! For the users of Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professional there are some important fixes in this service pack. The good news is that all fixes are related to the BatchParser which is a shared component that we from SQL Server which is part of SQL Server SMO. This means if you just want to install these fixes you can simply install the XMO redist MSI to update SMO and the BatchParser. The XMO redist is part of the SQL Server Feature Pack ...(truncated)...
To Synchronize or To Refresh?
(Indexed 2007-02-19):
Are you confused too? Are you wondering what the difference is between the "Refresh" button in "Solution Explorer" and the "Synchronize" button in "Schema View"? Both buttons share the same icon; but they are named differently; are both option doing the same or different things? So what is the difference?[Image][Image] Schema View - Synchronize The "synchronize" button, redraws the schema view, which is the logical schema view based on the in-memory schema representation of th...(truncated)...
Idempotent Scripts Required
(Indexed 2007-01-26):
Idempotent, as a former transaction guy I love this word and believe you are not alone if you are not clear on the meaning or impact of this word. Wikipedia is there to help. Idempotent: In computing, idempotence (IPA /admpotns/, like eye-DEM-potence) is the quality of something that has the same effect if used multiple times as it does if used only once, similar to the idempotence notion in mathematics. So what does this have to do with Pre and Post deployment scripts? Everything, freely tran...(truncated)...
Pre and Post Deployment Events
(Indexed 2007-01-25):
The UI provides support for pre and post build events (see the "Build Events" project property page), however some of you have been asking if it is possible to have steps invoked before or after the deployment step. This will show you how to do this. Create a simple SQL Server 2005 database project named "PrePostDeploy". For demo purposes change project to always re-create the database (right click project node in Solution Explorer | Properties | Build tab | check "Always re-create database"), ...(truncated)...
Error and Warning Groups
(Indexed 2007-01-17):
One of the things we did at the end of the product cycle, when we decided that we need to allow you to filter out warnings, is to clean up all error and warning messages and concisely group them in to specific buckets. Understanding these buckets will go a long way helping you interpret the cause of the warnings and errors. Error & Warning Message Grouping TSD1xxx Phase 1 parsing / interpretation TSD2xxx Phase 2 parsing TSD3xxx Phase 2 interpretation TSD4xxx SQL Execution / Compile Vali...(truncated)...
Variables to the rescue
(Indexed 2007-01-09):
Do you have a need to make parts of your build conditional or environment dependent? Variables are here to help you. The variable support inside Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals is based on SQLCMD variables, see SQL Server Books Online for more details. When you are using SQLCMD variables inside your T-SQL scripts there are a couple of options and things you need to know about, which is exactly what this post will cover. $(databasename) Today we rely on one specific variab...(truncated)...