VERSION CONTROL

 

Objectives

• To records changes to a file or set of files over time so that you can recall specific versions later

 

Description

To deal with this issue, programmers long ago developed local VCSs that had a simple database that kept all the changes to files under revision control .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1-1. Local version control diagram.
 

One of the more popular VCS tools was a system called rcs, which is still distributed with many computers today. Even the popular Mac OS X operating system includes the rcs command when you install the Developer Tools. This tool basically works by keeping patch sets (that is, the differences between files) from one revision to another in a special format on disk; it can then recreate what any file looked like at any point in time by adding up all the patches.

A common approach to database change management is:

• Take a database snapshot at the beginning of a project

• Allow developers to make the changes they need as the develop their code

• Compare the final database to the original database.

• From this comparison, auto-generate the SQL to add, remove and modify tables, columns, views, etc
   

Website : http://liquibase.org

 

Version Tested : 2.0.1
 

License & Pricing: Apache 2.0 License, Free