Visual Studio Hacks

Script Your Database #75

Chapter 9, Server Explorer Hacks

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HACK

HACK

#75

Script Your Database Hack #75

Most applications involve some sort of data, and where you have data you

probably have a database. Script the creation of your database with the

Database Project and the Server Explorer.

Managing databases is always a difficult task; you have to manage not only

the tables but also the views, stored procedures, functions, and triggers. In

an enterprise environment, you are most likely working with multiple data-

bases. Keeping those databases synchronized with one another is a daunting

task. All of this is not easy, but using the Database Project and the Server

Explorer can help make these tasks much more manageable.

The Database Project

The Database Project is different than most of the projects you are used to

using in Visual Studio. The project does not have an output like an execut-

able or assembly, but instead is just something that can be used to collect

and store SQL scripts. The idea behind the Database Project is that, instead

of trying to use one of your many databases as the “master” database, you

should instead maintain a store of create scripts that can be used to create

your database at any time. If you need a new copy of the database, you sim-

ply run this collection of scripts, instead of trying to make a copy of the

database. This has a number of benefits:

• You can ensure that all ...