March 4, 2013 at 9:00 am
I am just starting learn and use SSIS, and was wondering how you document changes? In a stored proc I always created a comment block at the start and at the end of the code change, and commenting out the code that was being replaced. I also placed a version number that matched the comments at the top of the stored proc.
I do not have any version control software, and was wondering how others handle documenting changes in your SSIS package.
March 4, 2013 at 11:47 am
I add an annotation block to the package and keep high level revision history there. The packages are source controlled but the annotation block gives me a quick record to review.
I've also found that making extensive use of the description field for each object is quite helpful for overall documentation and understanding.
March 7, 2013 at 10:57 am
Tortiose subversion and Mercurial Hg are both free Source code control packages. Of the two, I think Mercurial is probably better for managing SSIS because of the number of files generated automatically (Solution and Project folder, .sln, .dtproj, .dtsx, dtscongif, databases, manifest files etc)
One of the challenges with SSIS (and SSRS for that matter) is that becasue the whole thing is XML based, and includes the diagram layouts in the XML, you can change the dtsx just by moving a constraint arrow or a task without actually changing the logic or performance of the package so how do you distinguish between a change in presentation and a change in logic. I'm still to resolve this one so if anyone can help...
March 11, 2013 at 12:13 pm
Thanks, I will download those and give them a test drive. Yep, I agree... tracking xml changes means that simple changes get flagged as a new version. But you then still have the issue of commenting on the changes. In code you just place starting and ending version marks, and comment out the old code. That is not possible in a SSIS package.
March 14, 2013 at 1:52 am
BIDS Helper has a Smart Diff feature that will ignore some changes in the XML, and hopefully only leave the real changes highlighted. Not that we can always make sense of what that XML is saying but it filters out a lot of the noise making it a bit easier. It's a free download and plugs into BIDS. Smart Diff is just one of the useful things about it. I highly recommend it.
There are no special teachers of virtue, because virtue is taught by the whole community.
--Plato
March 14, 2013 at 9:14 am
Thanks.. our web development team uses VSS, so maybe I can get connected long enough to do the install.
Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply