Do you know about the Visual Studio 2010 Database Projects Guidance?

Early on in the Team System (now Visual Studio ALM) cycle a new product surfaced within Team System that was affectionately called “Data Dude”, but had the more formal name of “Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals”. The purpose of this product was to try and make the database a “first class citizen” in the development world.

Those that started using Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals (Data Dude) loved it, but everyone else did not get it. The capabilities were a little patchy, but the one thing it did bring to the party was the ability to put your database schema under source control. This was revolutionary as previously your DBA sat as far away from the team as possible, and usually in a dark cupboard, now they could partake of all the goodness of Version Control, Work Item Tracking and automated builds.

The problem was that the understanding required to manage these projects was very different to that needed previously. Then the Visual Studio ALM Rangers got a hold of it…and produced some of the best guidance available.

Figure: Download the guidance from http://vsdatabaseguide.codeplex.com/

This guidance discusses scenarios and approaches of using the Database Projects in Visual Studio 2010 to help you use the tools more effectively and maximize their value to your organization

This guidance is focused on these five areas:

• Solution and Project Management
• Source Code Control and Configuration Management
• Integrating External Changes with the Project System
• Build and Deployment Automation with Visual Studio Database Projects
• Database Testing and Deployment Verification

Each of these areas has common guidance, usage scenarios, hands on labs, and lessons learned from real world engagements and the community discussions.

The guidance is broken down into three packages:

• Guidance documentation
• Hands-on-lab (HOL) documentation
  note: The documentation is available in XPS-only format packages or complete XPS,PDF,DOCX format packages
• HOL Package

If you need assistance and no one else can help, then you may need to call the Visual Studio ALM Rangers.

The Visual Studio ALM Rangers have the mission to provide out of band solutions for missing features or guidance. They are supported by Microsoft Product Group, Microsoft Consulting Services, Microsoft Most Valued Professionals (MVPs) and technical specialists from technology communities around the globe, giving you a real-world view from the field, where the technology has been tested and used.

For more information on the Rangers please visit http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/ee358786.aspx and for more a list of other Rangers projects please see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/ee358787.aspx .