ApexSQL DevOps toolkit PowerShell scripts, offer some interesting, compelling, advantageous and even unique features compared to other solutions that may be available
Open source
ApexSQL DevOps toolkit PowerShell cmdlets are contained in the DevOps toolkit PowerShell module that is available for download in the form of PowerShell code from our GitHub repository. That means anyone with some scripting skills can customize the way in which PowerShell CI and CD scripted pipelines are executed.
For example, we can change the default set of step options integrated in pipeline step cmdlet function parameters, reconfigure how ApexSQL tools behave on pipeline execution, change the console messages and even create a completely new step combining abilities of ApexSQL tools or custom code that you want to integrate.
More steps
With the Audit step it is possible to implement audit architecture on to database updates before even deploying them into production.
The Review step is something that every decent database project needs to enforce the SQL best practices.
And documenting database changes, with the Document step, can provide a great audit for your processed pipelines
Maximum customization and convenience with projects
Since almost every ApexSQL developer tool has the possibility to save options and configuration settings as project files, why not use these same project files with CI and CD pipelines. The ApexSQL DevOps toolkit can consume project files for every ApexSQL tool and in doing so, customize your pipelines steps to work exactly as the ApexSQL tools do, using these same project files. Every pipeline step can use project files to pull the set of saved options to tweak the step and to reuse them as necessary.
With the ability to add additional CLI parameters you can further customize your pipeline step with switch overrides and even additional commands
Free
Even though ApexSQL DevOps toolkit PowerShell scripts can be fully integrated with different build workflow solutions, like TeamCity, Jenkins, Bamboo, VSTS and many more, such build server software isn’t required. Every SQL Server environment with ApexSQL developer tools and PowerShell installed can be used as build server.
The only thing that needs to be done is to set the global options within the ApexSQL DevOps toolkit PowerShell scripts, like data sources and any configuration options, and execute the script.
The ApexSQL DevOps toolkit PowerShell module and scripts are 100% free for download, install, customize, use and deploy for any number of clients or servers.
June 29, 2018
