Nothing wrong with this scenario.

But ... I would be all over my data modelers if I had to modify
production tables more than once a year. 20 minutes of downtime
represents a significant chunk of a million dollars of lost business.

On Wed, 2005-06-29 at 11:54 +1200, Robert martin wrote:
> Hi
>
> We have a similar situation, every time our app is upgraded the DB
> structure changes. I just know Im going to get lots of flames for this
> but this is what we do......
>
> (all automated)
>
> If the system detects the DB structure is old we
>
> Backup DB (in case of problems).
> Build a new empty DB
> Pump (using IBO pump) data from the old DB to the new DB
>
> This gives us MANY advantages over a modify script.
>
> 1. Dead simple to maintain. No need to maintain modify DB statements.
> This is especially useful as our clients are likely to skip one or more
> updates.
> 2. Can add /delete / modify fields, triggers, procedures etc without
> worrying about dependencies
>
> Downsides
> 1. Slow (for a half gig DB this can take 20+ minutes). This is negated
> by the fact that our updates only take place a relatively small number
> of times a year.
>
>
>
>
> Rob Martin
> Software Engineer
>
> phone +64 03 377 0495
> fax +64 03 377 0496
> web www.chreos.com
>
> Wild Software Ltd
>
>
>
> Gustavo wrote:
>
> >Hello:
> >
> >I have an application developped in Delphi 5, using Firebird and IBX.
> >
> >When I install a new version of my software in a PC which has installed the previous version, it frequently occurs that there are changes in the structure of some tables. What I want to do is that my application could automatically upgrade the table´s structures that changed.
> >
> >I summarize the possible changes and the solution I thought for each one:
> >
> >A new field was added: ALTER TABLE table ADD ...
> >A field was discarded: ALTER TABLE table DROP ...
> >A new index was added: CREATE INDEX ...
> >An index was discarded: DROP INDEX ...
> >A field has changed (length, etc.): I didn´t found a statement like ALTER FIELD so I though of modifying RDB$FIELDS with UPDATE statements.
> >
> >My question is. Is this a good way to do this? Does anyone know a better way?
> >
> >Thanks in advance
> >
> >Gustavo
> >
> >
> >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> >++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> >
> >Visit http://firebird.sourceforge.net and click the Resources item
> >on the main (top) menu. Try Knowledgebase and FAQ links !
> >
> >Also search the knowledgebases at http://www.ibphoenix.com
> >
> >++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> >
> >Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> Visit http://firebird.sourceforge.net and click the Resources item
> on the main (top) menu. Try Knowledgebase and FAQ links !
>
> Also search the knowledgebases at http://www.ibphoenix.com
>
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>