Introduction
In most modern application projects, databases play a crucial role in enabling efficient data storage, retrieval, and management. Whether you're capturing inputs from a web-based front-end or integrating a database into a larger solution, coding is often necessary to create and manage these databases. As a developer, understanding the intricacies of databases is essential for building robust and scalable applications.
With Azure SQL Database, developers can use advanced capabilities such as built-in security, performance optimization, and seamless scalability. These technologies also support the latest innovations in the Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform, ensuring that developers can meet the diverse needs of their applications, from local development to cloud-based solutions.
In this module, you'll learn about different methods to develop and automate Azure SQL Database publishing for development purposes.
Tip
Before proceeding, make sure you have completed the Get started with Azure SQL Database for modern application development module.
Simplify continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) processes
Including database creation and changes as part of the continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD) process offers several benefits for developers.
Consistency and reliability: Automating database creation and changes ensures that every environment (development, testing, staging, and production) is set up consistently. This reduces the risk of human error and ensures that the database schema and data are reliable across all environments.
Faster development cycles: By integrating database creation and changes into the CI/CD pipeline, developers can quickly spin up new environments for testing and development. This accelerates the development process and allows for more frequent releases.
Improved collaboration: With database creation and changes automated, teams can work more collaboratively. Developers, testers, and operations teams can all work with the same database setup, leading to better communication and fewer misunderstandings.
Version control: With the version control of the database schema, any changes to the database can be tracked, reviewed, and rolled back if necessary, providing a clear history of database changes.
Continuous testing: Every time a change is made to the codebase, the CI/CD pipeline can automatically create a new database, run tests, and ensure that everything works as expected before deploying to production.
Scalability: Automating database creation and changes makes it easier to scale applications. As the application grows, new databases can be created automatically to handle increased load, ensuring that the application remains performant.
These benefits collectively lead to more efficient development processes, higher quality software, and faster delivery times.