SQL Server Source Control for Developers (FREEWARE)

I know that this is a forum devoted to MonoGame development. I also know that the way I write my longer threads such as this one, reads very much like a corporate document. Forgive me this flaw, as like many developers who have slaved under the aegis of large corporate environments for long periods of time, to a certain extent I have become institutionalized much like the prisoners we are forced to become in order to survive but in this case, financially.

Any game of any complexity or size requires some level of database storage. I have worked with many databases over the course of a very long professional and now non-professional career in retirement. From Dbase to Oracle to SQLite, I have either worked in-depth with such engines or tinkered with them to some level of proficiency. I am by no means an expert as the likes of Joe Kelko, who has specialized in database internals and DBA-style development specifically, but I have come to know more than that of the average developer in this realm. That being said, there is no doubt in my mind that Microsoft’s SQL Server is by far the finest database engine ever created. With its inherent features of easy installation, ease-of-use, and solid Transact SQL development language, only one other database engine has ever come close in such capabilities; Sybase’s SQL Anywhere (which used to be freely available for developers).

However, only Microsoft (to my knowledge) has ever released an API that allows developers to access and manipulate the various internals of this fantastic engine. My SQL Server Source Control for Developers uses this API to provide a similar level of source control for SQL Server’s database object scripts that the more expensive Red Gate and ApexSQL tools provide but does so now as FREEWARE. Though I put a tremendous amount of effort into this tool’s development, attempting to sell it as a commercial product is no longer feasible since in general, the technical community no longer wants to purchase software tools. Luckily, in game development there is still some opportunity to make a little money from our efforts since games for the most part are not simply given away and few are ever open-sourced.

Since I am not sure about the future of this product, I am not now releasing the source code. However, for those of you that would like to take advantage of Microsoft’s freely available SQL Server 2016 Express and Developer versions, my software will do the trick for source control with a very easy to use interface.

Simply go to the following link to download the complete package with full documentation…

Download SQL Server Source Control for Developers (ver. 2.2.1)

This software requires version 4.6 or greater of the .NET Framework and now comes packaged within a setup program. It is compatible with SQL Server 2016 and earlier.

The only version of SQL Server that this software has not been tested against is LocalDB. The reason for this is that so few developers, including myself, seem to understand what this version of SQL Server is supposed to provide. According to Microsoft, LocalDB is supposed to replace SQL Server Compact Edition, which was probably the best freely available desktop database engine ever created. Microsoft, in their infinite stupidity discontinued this product for LocalDB with explanations that border on the incoherent. In short, they had no idea what they were doing since LocalDB, based on its technical specifications, cannot really act as a desktop replacement for SQL Server CE. Nonetheless, for those that would still like to use this older desktop database engine and need some assistance, contact me at the my site address below and I will show you how to implement it in your applications. Despite the somewhat confusing documentation on such deployments it is actually quite straight-forward.

For SQL Server Source Control for Developers, If you already have Visual Studio installed but not the 4.6 version of the Framework, ensure that you upgrade your Visual Studio dependencies with the appropriate upgrade package for 4.6 or you may find that your Visual Studio no longer works (as I did a while back).

SQL Server 2017 is now out in the RCM version, so to my knowledge it is not ready for “prime time”. However, as far as I know, the biggest feature of this version is its capability to run under Linux. As a result, if anyone may be interested in converting my work, which would be a rather large effort, to run under this operating system please contact me through at my website at http://www.blackfalconsoftware.com.

I will provide all of my source code and documentation to you based on a non-disclosure agreement, which will be held in abeyance until I decide if and when the software should be open-sourced. For those who may decide to work on the project, I will of course take your suggestions towards this decision.

On a final note, if any decide to use my source control tool, I really would appreciate your comments, suggestions, or criticisms on it so that future enhancements can be implemented based upon this input. Again, feel free to contact me through my website noted above.

Enjoy… :slight_smile:

SQL Server is by far the finest database engine ever created

I agree with this, I have been working with many DBs engines too, I certainly have not yet experience all the existing ones, but this one is the most polished I have ever seen.
Of course some options are not available in the free version, but it is reliable and fantastic to work with.

So I’ll give your app a try, and maybe stick with it :wink:

Thanks for the heads up on this, I’ll have to take a look and see how much use it will be - I’ve generally saved all my sql scripts out as .sql files and then added those to source control (SVN / TFS etc.) Never bothered with the redgate one, it’s always been too expensive for personal use.

To those who have posted their interest in trying out my database source control software, please accept my sincere thank you.

Though the software has been tested successfully under Windows 8.1, I was not able to finalize testing on my Windows 10 laptop since right before I releases the package, this machine broke down as in now in the shop for repairs.

If you have any issues with the application, please email me from the contact form on my web-site or directly at blackfalconsoftware@outlook.com. Since I am usually working in my home-office, I tend to respond within a few hours.

Again, thank you for your interest… :relaxed: