Re: [tlug] Non destructive update of MySQL database

[Darren Cook <darren@example.com>]

> I also have some web sites that are using the same database structure.
> When I change the structure on my local database, I want that change to
> also be done on my web site databases. Only the structure needs to be
> altered. No data needs to be copied or synchronized.

The way I do this is:
  1. Use phpmyadmin on development server to modify the structure.
  2. When it executes it also shows the SQL it used, e.g.
     ALTER TABLE .... ;
     I copy and paste that to a text file.
  3. Repeat for all structural changes. (also for inserts/updates)
  4. When I'm ready, I then run that block of SQL on the live server.

It is a bit manual, but one advantage is that I can see all changes I am
making in that step (a set of SQL changes often go hand-in-hand with a
set of PHP/HTML changes).

> Is there a way to do this? Compare one database to another and then have
> new tables and columns added in?

If you find an open-source tool that can diff two table structures and
make the ALTER TABLE SQL to go from one to the other please let me know!

Darren


-- 
Darren Cook
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