Re: Version control of Oracle Stored Objects.

On Fri, 04 Mar 2005 15:38:59 +0000, Lig <lignite_at_iol.ie> wrote:

>We have an implementation of Oracle 9i database. We have a team of 20
>developers working on a project. We use PL/SQL DEVELOPER and Visual
>Source Safe to cotrol the source.
>
>The problem we have at the moment is one of version control.For the
>moment, 2 developers can edit and compile a package.Because the package
>is compiled on the DB Server,It is possible that a source being edited
>by a developer could be overwritten by another.There is nothing in
>PL/SQL that forces a user to check out and edit. We have Visual Source
>safe fully integrated into PL/SQL Developer.But that's only as much as
>it gets.VSS is not ORacle aware.
>
>
>Are there any products out there that can be used for Version
>controlling Oracle Stored Objects that are Oracle Aware?
>
>Is there a better way of doing this?

If 2 developers may concurrently edit and compile a package, you have serious flaws in your workflow and/or your developer's understanding of how to organize a multi-developer-project. We follow some strict rules when developing ORACLE-centric applications

• assure, that every developer has a clear understanding of how the development environment works. It isn't enough to have all tools configured properly and tell the developers: "Just go ahead and code!"
• The version control system is the holy grail. It keeps all source code. Source code outside the VCS doesn't exist.
• to edit some database object, it has to be checked out. So your IDE (for example PL/SQL Developer) edits a file in your local filesystem, never the object in the database itselt.This way, concurrent edits are impossible.
• if not checked out, keep no lokal copies of source code
• direct edit of database objects is strictly disallowed
• all development databases are rebuild every night automatically based upon checked-in source code
• test data is generated automatically based on scripts

hth

--
Marc Blum
mailto:blumNOSPAM_at_marcblum.de
http://www.marcblum.de