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:...

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...

Visual Studio makes it relatively easy to hook in to pre and post build events, by using the Project properties tab named Build Events. However when using Database Projects (.dbproj) you more often need to do something at deployment time. The good news...

Pre-deployment script do not change the outcome of deployments! The above statements is something that most users do not realize when using pre-deployment scripts. Since the pre-deployment script is included in to the deployment script, it therefore by...

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

The DevConnections conference organization (Tech Conferences Inc.), just released the latest issue of the magazine accompanying the conferences, named: MyDevConnections . In this edition (volume 2, issue 1) you will find an article that I wrote about...

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...

We frequently get asked how to identify the version a user is running with, so here is the list of Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition releases. The information is retrieved using Help => About Microsoft Visual Studio inside the Visual...

Quick one based on a forum question where somebody asked how to detect if VSDBCMD.EXE failed or succeeded inside a batch file. VSDBCMD.EXE does not return a very elaborate amount of information, there are just two return values 0 and 1, where zero indicates...

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...

I am receiving the following question a lot: How do I propagate MSBuild properties to SQLCMD variables. In order to make the Visual Studio 2008 Team System Database Edition GDR release use the data from an MSBuild property inside a SQLCMD variable you...

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...

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...

Define What You Want, Not How You Get There!   If Not Exists… Database development is many aspects behind in comparison to regular application development. If you look how database development is integrated with regular application development or...

The QFE rollup release for the Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR release is now available. You can download the SETUP.EXE from the regular location. ( http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bb3ad767-5f69-4db9-b1c9-8f55759846ed...

Yesterday, March 25th, the development team released an RC of the upcoming QFE of the Visual Studio 2008 Team System Database Edition GDR bits. I was surprised to read the new naming “ Visual Studio 2008 Database Edition GDR v2 RC1 ”. Anyhow what is in...

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...

Can the “real” database project please identify itself? Life can be confusing and we did not help you making it much easier by having two types of Database Projects inside Visual Studio. For the longest time there has been a “Database Project” inside...

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...

If you are running in to the following problem when creating unit tests when using database projects, there now is a fix! Consider the following scenario, you have you database project (.dbproj) open and requesting the creation of a Database Unit Test...

  Is your Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR installation confused? Does your menu suffer from multiple instance disorder? Here is what you can do about it. Make sure that Visual Studio (devenv.exe) is closed. Start an elevated command...

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...

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...

The Visual Studio Team System Database Edition team has created a new blog site to keep you informed and update about the latest developments. Please check out: http://blogs.msdn.com/vstsdb Thanks, -GertD

Some of you already know or noticed through sites like LinkedIn or Facebook that per the beginning of this month I started in a new role inside Microsoft. I moved in to an Software Architect role, working on the new Directory Services stack. Hence I needed...