SSDT SDK Projects, Aspire, and Visual Studio
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Hello,
Currently we manage our application's database using SSDT through Visual Studio. Schema Compare and Table designer accessible from Visual Studio are convenience features that we wish to retain.
The 'next thing' for SSDT is the migration to SDK Style Projects
SSDT - SDK Style Projects
which simplify a number of things and ease deployment for CI/CD solutions, though we have solved that problem the long way around. It is a documented but not officially supported solution when integrating into Aspire.
SQL Database Projects hosting - .NET Aspire | Microsoft Learn
However, the newer SDK style projects are not supported for features like table designer or schema compare from within Visual Studio.
Wishing to keep current, It would be nice to use SDK style projects, integrated into Aspire, and retain features like schema compare and the table designer within Visual Studio. That does not seem possible at the moment, and fair enough, the feature is in preview.
If anyone else was or is in the same boat, how did you work around the issue.
For anyone using the newer SDK style projects or those that operate outside of Visual Studio, what tooling do you use for schema compare and easing table design?
Thanks in advance!
Visual Studio and SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) are not the same thing. SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) only works within Visual Studio, and has nothing to do with SSMS. If you want to use what SSDT offers, you will need a compatible version of Visual Studio to do so.
Updated per request:
SSMS is used to do development around the SQL Server stack, where VS is an all around development tool that you can use to build applications in many programming languages.
Is used to be that SSDT was called Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS), and was more of a stand-alone thing; it was really off to the side of the SQL Server stack that business intelligence pros needed to get their work done. Now, with SSDT, MS has made is fit a little more with VS project templates, although you still have to download it separately.
You need SSDT to develop SSRS reports, SSAS cubes and SSIS packages, and it includes tools to help you deploy those things to the appropriate location when you are done with development.
Hope this helps you out!
Actually SSDT will include a scaled back version of Visual Studio that will allow you to create Integration Services packages, including an IDE to create and edit Script Components.
Read about it here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/ssdt/download-sql-server-data-tools-ssdt#installing-ssdt-without-visual-studio-pre-installed
Thanks to all of the answers, but I think I found what I was looking for in the Visual Studio Community Edition license: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/license-terms/mlt031819/
My understanding, is that this allows me to use Visual Studio 2019 Community Edition for SSDT tools in an enterprise setting.
You don't have to install SSDT in Visual Studio 2019, even in Community. Go to new project and type SQL and hit return. It will say something like "SQL Server Database Project". Guess what? That's SSDT. In older versions, it was a separate install. It is now part of the core Visual Studio. And you upgrade it, if there are any, the same way you do anything else.
Already installed Visual Studio? No problem. Reopen the installer and install the data tools. This can be part of the payloads they have (I forget which one, but it has to do with data) or you can click on the tab that allows you to install individual components and search for the SQL tools. Once installed, they are there.
I don't belie you can install using the SSDT separate installer anymore, just like you know handle all of the .NET Core installs in Visual Studio, rather than separate. Kathleen Dollard outlined this in one of her posts last year (not SSDT, but .NET Core, etc.), so it has been a bit more than a year these things got folded into the installer. Core may still allow download and install? Not sure. But SSDT is the SQL project in 2019.
You can only install SSDT, it will install the shell of the Visual studio it is written in. I will suggest installing Visual studio 2015 community edition https://www.visualstudio.com/downloads/ and then install SSDT. If you only looking at creating SSRS reports only then just install report builder. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=53613 .SSDT is NOT a new version of Visual Studio its a add on feature to be able to develop SSRS using Visual Studio
Here is my take on your question, from personal experience and researching this matter. Think of it this way SSDT's primary use case is, if you only need to develop solutions for SSIS, SSRS, SSAS etc. Although you are using Visual Studio, you are not using the version of Visual Studio like Community/Professional/Enterprise editions which are targeted for .NET Core 3.x or .NET Framework 4.8.x & have additional benefits you may not use. A good question to help decide is this: will you be creating MVC Webb Apps, WPF Applications? if the answer is no, then SSDT will provide all that you need. I wouldn't use Report Build for SSRS, because it lacks much of the functionality you will need to increase productivity and versioning (Team Explorer).