Chapter 3. Introducing VSTS 2008 Database Edition
This chapter covers
- Database change management
- Database testing
- Integrating with Team Build
Few applications work without interacting with a database. Databases typically contain configuration settings, lookup values, user and transaction information, application metadata, persisted state information, business rules, auditing information, historical records, and a host of other crucial data. However, despite their obvious importance and relevance, database development and management have traditionally been outside the scope of the mainstream application development process. Application developers have typically used the latest development methodologies, the greatest software configuration management (SCM) systems and the slickest IDEs, whereas database developers have languished in obsolete environments that don’t support many basic modern features (such as IntelliSense). Their activities remain opaque, noncommunicable, unauditable, and sometimes, unmaintainable. Without integrating the activities of database developers into the mainstream development process, the full potential of the development team remains unrealized, and application development becomes difficult.