I am part of a software development company looking for a good way to update my SQL Server tables when I put out a new version of the software. I know the answer is to probably use scripts in one form or another.
I am considering writing my own .NET program that runs the scripts to make it a bit easier and more user-friendly. I was wondering if there are any tools out there along those lines. Any input would be appreciated.
What kind of product are you using for your software installation? Products like InstallShield often now include SQL steps as an option for part of your install script.
Otherwise, you could look at using isql/osql to run your script from the command line through a batch file.
One of the developers where I'm currently consulting wrote a rather nifty SQL installer. I'll ask him when he gets in how he went about it.
I am using Red Gate's SQL Compare all the time. Also you need to make sure to provide a rollback script in case you need to go back to the previous version.
Have a look at DB Ghost Packager Plus.
Packages your source database and the compare and sync engine into a simple EXE for deployment. The installer EXE will automatically update any target schema to match the source on-the-fly at installation time.
Red Gate's SQL Compare to generate the change script, and Red Gate's Multi Script to easily send it to multiple SQL databases at the same time.