Do Data Tier Application Projects replace Database Projects from Visual Studio Database Edition?

Question

I'm only slightly familiar with the features of Data Tier Applications and what Database Projects did in the Database Edition of visual studio.

Are these two different overlapping solutions for database version control? Or does Data Tier Application functionality replace outright the need to use visual studio database edition and database projects?

Answer 1

Right now the difference between Database Projects and Data Tier Projects is at the point of deployment. If you want to create a dacpac, you'd use the Data Tier Project. If you want to createa .dbschema and sql migration file, you'd use the conventional Database Project.

As far as I'm aware, Data Tier Applications are expected to be important in future for SQL Azure deployment.

Unless you're specifically looking at SQL Azure, I'd use Database Projects for now. It all depends on what you're trying to achieve. It could be that SQL Source Control (by Red Gate, the company I work for) is more suited to your needs.

Answer 2

DAC provides an application model which can be used as an interface between developers and DBAs. The developer edits the model, the DBA manages/deploys from the model. For example, once the model is built or extracted, it can be deployed to multiple servers.

Imagine the .dacpac as an .exe. The developer builds an .exe and hands it off to someone. At this point, it would be nice if the developer doesn't have to worry about where that .exe runs because the .exe is internally consistent - it either runs or it doesn't. Why should the developer need to worry about targetting 2008, 2005, or Azure specifically? Just develop the app model and let DAC take care of the rest...

Having this deployment artifact also provides some new capabilities. Examples include versioned deployments, the ability to determine if someone has changed the database since the last deployment or upgrade, the ability to create the same database in different target servers.

Do you like having to manage a library of upgrade scripts for your various databases? Wouldn't it be nice if the entire state of your database could be built or captured (extracted) at any point in time?

The database application project mashup in VS 2010 will be resolved in an upcoming release of database-centric developer tools. Investing in dbschema or DAC wont affect forward compatibility.

Answer 3

I believe Visual Studio database projects are targeted at developers.

Data Tier Applications are targeted at DBAs. See this blog for details.