Question

We use stored procedures exclusively here, and that raises a little problem. We cross reference two different databases like dbdev..table1 in dev, dbqa..table1 in qa, and dbprod..table1 in production.

So every time we deploy to a different environment, we have to search and replace from dbdev to dbqa or dbprod.

Is there a way to use synonym or whatever sql server mechanics to solve problem?

Answer 1

Use sqlcmd variables, which are supported by sqlcmd deployment of .sql provisioning scripts,a s well as by VSDB projects. So your provisioning script looks like:

create procedure usp_myProc
as
select .. from [$(crossdb)]..table1;
go

When deploying it in production you run sqlcmd /E /I provisoning.sql /v crossdb=dbprod, while the QA deployment will be done via sqlcmd /E /I provisioning.sql /v crossdb=dbqa. See Using sqlcmd with Scripting Variables.

As a side note, I am working on a project that allows sqlcmd variables to be used from .Net SqlClient (SqlConnection, SqlCommand): the dbutilsqlcmd project.