create database: programmatically vs app-tools

[Guest]

Just wondering if anyone knows the pros/cons between creating a database
programmatically vs using the application's tool windows/features that come
with SQLServer, Access, Oracle, etc...

Is it the same? Does it really matter? I have created databases with .NET
programmatically and it works fine, but why would anyone want to do all this
typing when they can easily point and click inside the program?

It took a few hours of typing for me to create the database and all its
tables. I am very certain that if i just point and clicked inside the
program it would've been done in less than an hour. So why do people
programmatically use SQL? Is it only on an as-needed basis or do many people
ALWAYS use this practice because it makes it more efficient/declarative?

 

[Mark]

Once you've typed the syntax once ... you can save it in a .sql or text file
and reuse it over and over and over. Once it's written, no more clicking -
just modify for the new database, and then execute. Moreover, there are a
myriad of configuration issues that affect performance, security, etc., that
sometimes are easy to overlook in the GUI, and would have to be addressed by
reading through BOL to write the syntax yourself. Consider it a "healthy"
excercise that will treat you well over the long haul.

Good luck.

Mark
www.dovetaildatabases.com

 

[Ben Bloom]

It's easier to migrate changes through development -> Test -> Production
servers if the database is created in script. Just apply the script to
a different server/database and you're set.

If you use the GUI tools (which, I admit, are nice and easy) you have to
manually change each database.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies.

From now on I think I will be creating all my databases with reusable
scripts.

Sounds like its definitely worth it.