Database or Schema versioning is the practice of tracking and managing changes to a database schema over time. It is important for several reasons:
- Consistency: Ensures all environments (development, testing, production) have the same schema structure.
- Traceability: Provides a history of changes, making it easier to troubleshoot issues.
- Collaboration: Allows multiple developers to work on the database simultaneously without conflicts.
- Rollback capability: Enables reverting to previous versions if needed.
- Automation: Facilitates automated deployments and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines.
Two popular tools for schema migration and versioning are:
- Flyway: An open-source schema migration tool that supports a wide range of database systems. It uses SQL or Java-based migrations and can be integrated into various build and deployment processes.
- Liquibase: Another open-source tool for tracking, managing, and applying database schema changes. It supports multiple formats for defining changes, including XML, YAML, JSON, and SQL.
Both Flyway and Liquibase also offer Enterprise/Pro versions with advance features like drift detection, policy or rule based change control, UI application, premium support and many more.
The Databricks SQL SME team has published two informative blogs that provide detailed guidance on integrating Flyway and Liquibase with Databricks for schema versioning and migrations.
These blogs cover the following key points:
- An overview of Flyway/Liquibase and their benefits for schema versioning:
- Explanation of schema versioning concepts
- Advantages of using tools like Flyway and Liquibase for managing schema changes
- How these tools improve collaboration, traceability, and automation
- Steps to set up Flyway/Liquibase with Databricks:
- Detailed configuration instructions for connecting to Databricks
- Driver setup and compatibility information
- Sample configuration files and connection strings
- Examples of common migration scenarios:
- Creating new tables and modifying existing schemas
- Handling data migrations
- Managing environment-specific configurations
- Tips for integrating into Databricks workflows and CI/CD pipelines:
- Best practices for organising migration scripts
- Strategies for incorporating database changes into existing development processes
- Guidance on automating migrations as part of CI/CD pipelines
These blogs provide comprehensive guidance for Databricks users looking to implement robust database/schema versioning and migration practices using industry-standard tools like Flyway and Liquibase.
