Tag: documentation

Gitora enables Oracle developers to pull code from other databases managed by Gitora with a single click. It also enables them to push to and pull from other Git repositories including the ones hosted by GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket etc…

Below are the steps to achieve this:

Moving Code from one Database to Another Using Gitora

Gitora 5 can manage any number of databases. It also enables these databases to pull code from each other. This makes moving code in your delivery pipeline (from dev to test, from test to preprod etc…) much less error prone and easier.

Open the Gitora app. Select the repo you want to pull to from the main select box.

In order pull code from another database managed by Gitora, click the “Git->Other Databases -> Pull” menu item. The Pull Dialog shows up.

Select the database you want to pull from. Next choose a repo and the branch.

In the example above, we are connected to our TEST database. We are pulling from the DEV database the MyNewRepo repo’s master branch. Any code changes that exist in the database objects that are part of MyNewRepo’s master branch (but don’t exist in TEST) will move to the TEST database after clicking the Pull button.

Pull is the simplest and most common use case. It moves the latest version of a code base from one database to another. Gitora also supports more sophisticated workflows. For example, you can move the code at a specific commit ID on a specific branch from one database to another database.

To achieve this click “Git->Other Databases->Fetch and Merge” menu item. The Fetch and Merge Dialog shows up. To further extend the example above, using this dialog, you can specify which commit ID you want to fetch from the other database. The example below fetches and earlier commit ID from the MyNewRepo’s master branch in DEV. (Pull always fetches the current code in the DEV database.)

Finally, we may want to fetch a new branch in another database that does not exist in the database we are connected to. For example, we may want to test a new feature developed in the feature branch FEATURE1. To test this feature, we need to pull it to the TEST database. To achieve this, click “Git->Other Databases-> Switch to Branch in Another Database” menu item. A Dailog shows up. Enter the database, repo and the branch name you want to bring over to the database you are connected to. In the example above, we are brining the FEATURE1 branch from MyNewRepo in DEV to the TEST database.

Pull from/Push to Remote Repos

In the Gitora web application, click the Settings –> Manage Remote Repos from the menubar.

The Manage Remote Repos page shows up.

Click the add button. The Add Remote dialog shows up. Enter a friendly alias for the remote Git repo. Finally, enter the URL that points to the remote repo. If you are using a service like GitHub, refer to the service provider website for the correct URL. For GitHub, the URL is in the following format: https://github.com/[github user name]/[gitreponame].git

Moving Code from Remote Repos to Databases using Gitora

Pulling from remote repos work the same way as pulling from other databases. Please note that in order for Gitora to successfully pull from a remote repo and update the database the structure, the remote repo must be either created by Gitora initially or the structure, folder and file names of the repo must be as if they are created by Gitora.

Pushing to a remote Git Repo

Open the Gitora app, select the repo you’d like to push from the main select box. Netx, click Git->Remote->Push. The Push dialog shows up.

Select the branch you’d like to push and the target remote repository you’d like to push this branch to. Enter the user name and password to connect to the remote repository. Leave these fields empty if the remote repository is not protected by a user name and a password. For example, if you are pushing to GitHub, the credentials you should enter are your GitHub user name and password.

Click the push button and wait for the response message to show up.

Today, we’re happy to announce the general availability of Gitora 3.

Gitora 2 enabled developers to manage database objects that support the CREATE OR REPLACE command, namely PACKAGES, PROCEDURES, FUNCTIONS, TRIGGERS, VIEWS, SYNONYMS and TYPES in a Git repository. (In Gitora terminology, we call these “Soft Objects”).

Gitora 3 goes a step further and enables developers to manage every database object in an Oracle Database with Git even if the object does not support the CREATE OR REPLACE command. (In Gitora terminology, we call these “Hard Objects”.)

Specifically, Gitora 3 allows developers to manage TABLES, INDEXES, SEQUENCES, CONSTRAINTS, TABLESPACES, MATERIALIZED VIEWS and every other schema or non-schema objects with Git.

Let’s examine how you can manage these objects with Gitora 3 with an example.

Introducing Managed Schemas

Gitora 3 introduces the concept of a Managed Schema. A managed schema is an Oracle Database Schema that Gitora tracks for execution of Hard Object DDL’s. In other words, you register one or more Oracle Schemas to a Gitora repository. Once a schema is registered to a repository, Gitora will track every hard object DDL executed for that schema. A repository can manage many schemas but a schema can only be managed by one repository.

Adding A Managed Schema to a Gitora Repository

In the Gitora App, select a repository. Click Local Commands –> Add/Remove Managed Schemas menu option. A dialog shows up.

Select the schema(s) you’d like to manage.

Click OK. The dialog closes. The screenshots above show the HR schema being added to a repo as a managed schema.

The Model Package

After a schema becomes managed, Gitora creates a new package in the schema automatically. This package is always called GITORA_MODEL[X] where [X] is a unique number that identifies the package. In our example above, Gitora created the GITORA_MODEL1 package in the HR schema and added this package to the Git repository which is managing the HR schema:

The screenshot above tells us that repo1 is managing the HR schema.

Tracking Soft Objects

There are no changes in Gitora 3 for soft objects. You continue managing soft objects just like you’ve been managing them with Gitora 2. In other words, any repo can manage any number of soft objects and any number of schemas.

To demonstrate this let’s add a dummy package called PACKAGE1 to HR and manage it with the same repo named repo1:

Select Local Commands –> Add/Remove Soft Objects menu item. A dialog shows up where you can select which soft objects you’d like to manage with repo1. Note that, GITORA_MODEL1 package shows up as a managed package because it was automatically created to manage the hard objects in the HR schema. 

Add PACKAGE1 as a managed package and click OK. The Gitora App shows the following object list for repo1:

Tracking Hard Object DDL’s

Let’s execute the following DDL statements for the HR schema: (Note that in the database session we first have to log in to Gitora with a valid Gitora user. In this case, we logged in as admin.)

ALTER TABLE COUNTRIES MODIFY (COUNTRY_NAME VARCHAR2 (200))

ALTER TABLE EMPLOYEES ADD (MIDDLE_NAME VARCHAR2 (25))

ALTER TABLE COUNTRIES ADD (CURRENCY_NAME VARCHAR2 (200))

Finally, let’s also modify a soft object and add a new dummy function to PACKAGE1 called function1.

To commit our changes, let’s switch to Gitora App and click the commit button. The My Objects Dialog shows up, displaying the list of soft objects and hard object DDL’s ready to be committed to Git. Note that the dialog only shows the changes made by the signed in developer:

In this dialog, you can choose which packages or hard object DDL’s you’d like to include in this commit by checking/unchecking the checkbox in the Include? columns of both grids.

Note that, the commit registers the package update and the table DDL statement as a single logical commit which is a key benefit we’d like to get from the version control system.

After the commit, we receive the following message from Git:

Note that, the Git commit not only included PACKAGE1 but also the GITORA_MODEL1 package. After the Git commit is successful, the new GITORA_MODEL1 package code looks like this:

CREATE OR REPLACE 
PACKAGE BODY gitora_model1 IS 

function doModel return clob is
  v_log_cl clob;
  v_ddl_cl clob;
  v_cursor_int integer;
  return_value integer;
  procedure log(in_text_cl clob) is
  begin
    v_log_cl:=v_log_cl||in_text_cl||chr(10);
  end;
begin
  /*GITORA GENERATED COMMENT. DO NOT EDIT OR REMOVE. ONLY WRITE CODE UNDER THIS LINE.*/
  null;
  
  /*SCRIPT FOR HR.COUNTRIES by user:admin */
  begin
    v_ddl_cl:='ALTER TABLE COUNTRIES 
   MODIFY (
    COUNTRY_NAME VARCHAR2 (200)
  
   )
  ';
    log(v_ddl_cl);
    execute immediate v_ddl_cl;
    log('DDL executed successfully.');
  exception
    when others then
      log('ERROR:'||' '||SQLErrm||' '||dbms_utility.format_error_backtrace);
  end;
  
  /*SCRIPT FOR HR.EMPLOYEES by user:admin */
  begin
    v_ddl_cl:='ALTER TABLE EMPLOYEES 
   ADD (
    MIDDLE_NAME VARCHAR2 (25)
   )
  ';
    log(v_ddl_cl);
    execute immediate v_ddl_cl;
    log('DDL executed successfully.');
  exception
    when others then
      log('ERROR:'||' '||SQLErrm||' '||dbms_utility.format_error_backtrace);
  end;
  
  /*SCRIPT FOR HR.COUNTRIES by user:admin */
  begin
    v_ddl_cl:='ALTER TABLE COUNTRIES 
   ADD (
    CURRENCY_NAME VARCHAR2 (200)
   )
  ';
    log(v_ddl_cl);
    execute immediate v_ddl_cl;
    log('DDL executed successfully.');
  exception
    when others then
      log('ERROR:'||' '||SQLErrm||' '||dbms_utility.format_error_backtrace);
  end;
  /*GITORA GENERATED COMMENT. DO NOT EDIT OR REMOVE. ONLY WRITE CODE ABOVE THIS LINE.*/
  return v_log_cl;
end;
end;

The GITORA_MODEL Package

The GITORA_MODEL packages contain the DDL statements you commit to your Git repository for the schema they are in. You can edit them any way you’d like to change the DDL statements, call other functions and procedures etc… In other words, they are no different than any other package you are managing with Gitora.

GITORA_MODEL.doModel function executes the DDL statements stored in the package. You can use the doModel function to execute the changes in a target database. For example, after development is completed for a new version, you can pull the new version to from DEV to the TEST database and simply execute the GITORA_MODEL.doModel function to transfer the hard object updates to TEST.

Errors during its execution does not prevent the doModel function from executing remaning DDL statements. The function captures these errors and returns them as a CLOB value. This way, the same GITORA_MODEL package can be executed many times even if contains DDL statements that are previously executed in the target database (because these statements will silently fail). The GITORA_MODEL packages requires minimal maintanance, if any at all.

Non-Schema Objects and GRANTS

Not every database object has a schema. For example, TABLESPACES do not have an owner schema. DDL statements for non-schema objects are tracked by Gitora if the Oracle User(schema) who executed the statement is being managed by Gitora. For example, in the case above, if a DDL statement to create a TABLESPACE is executed by the Oracle User HR, then this DDL will be tracked by repo1.

Similarly, any GRANT and REVOKE statement will be tracked by the Gitora repo which is managing the Oracle User(schema).

Customization

You may not want to manage every object or object type with Gitora. Moreover, you may want to define complex rules to decide which object is managed by which repo. Customizing what types of objects Gitora should manage and in which repo is very easy using PL/SQL. Gitora uses four database level DDL triggers to detect DDL statement execution. By editing these triggers, you can define any kind of rule you like.

For example, a common rule used by Gitora customers is to allow developers to create tables for testing purposes. These tables do not need to be managed by Gitora. One of the easy ways of implementing this rule is to tell developers to use a certain prefix such as Z_ for test tables, and exclude any table DDL statement from executing Gitora API’s in the four DDL triggers if the table name starts with Z_.

Existing Customers

Gitora 3 is a free upgrade for all current customers. Please allow us 2-3 weeks to send us your new license scripts.

We’ll have more tutorials and webinars about Gitora 3 in the near future. Now download the Gitora 3 trial and start playing! 🙂

This articles is about agile development using multiple (pluggable) databases. If you are trying to implement an agile workflow using a single database please read this article.

Here is the number one question we receive from PL/SQL developers, DBA’s and IT managers who are implementing a version control solution for their Oracle Database:

Developer 1 (or Team 1) works on Feature A (or issue A, bug A, project A). Developer 2 works on Feature B. Both developers make many changes to the PL/SQL code and many commits to the version control repository. We move to testing. Based on the test results, even more commits are made by both developers. Now at the last minute, due to some reason we decide to ship Feature B only. How can we remove Feature A from the source code easily? How does Gitora help in such a situation?

There are multiple answers to this question. Below, I’ll go over two possible solutions for two potential setups:

1. If you are using one shared development database
   
2. If you are using multiple development databases (or at least you are open to the idea.)

If You Are Using One Shared Development Database

Let’s assume that our shared development database is called DEV. In other words, both Feature A and Feature B are being developed in the same code base. Let’s also assume our only test database is called TEST.

Finally, assume that DEV and TEST are managed by Gitora. All version control operations are done with Gitora.

In this case, the commit history of the DEV repo has changes both for Feature A and B in a random order and looks something like this:

There is no easy way to remove the commits for Feature B in this setup. If the team decides to deliver Feature A to production but postpone the delivery of Feature B here are the steps they should follow:

• Go over the commit history of the DEV repo and find the commits that are related to Feature A.
  
• Comment out/revert back/change the edits made for Feature A. Git will help the developers to see what’s changed, added, deleted and what the previous versions of code objects looked like.
  
• Commit these new changes to the DEV repo.

At this point the commit history in the DEV repo looks something like this:

And finally, the next steps are:

• Pull the new version from DEV to TEST.
  
• Run tests on the TEST database. If there are no errors, deliver the new version to production. If there are errors, go to the second step, wash, rinse and repeat until the desired outcome is reached.

In such a setup Gitora provides the following benefits:

• Gitora keeps track of all changes made to the PL/SQL code in the DEV database, automatically. Developers do not have to remember which PL/SQL objects they modified and what they modified in those objects.
  
• Moving the code between DEV and TEST is as easy as clicking a button. The team does not need to manually prepare scripts.

The downside of this approach is that it involves manual work which is error prone. Developers still have to manually go through the commit history and make the changes to the source code in DEV to disable/remove Feature A. With only one shared development database, there is no easy way to remove Feature A.

If You Are Using Multiple Development Databases

Now things get more interesting. Below is a simplified workflow that uses only two development databases. This setup enables the IT team to deliver only the Feature B without manually editing PL/SQL code objects to remove Feature A.

Here is our initial set up:

• Developer 1 works in the database DEV1 and Developer 2 works in the database DEV2 i.e. both developers (teams) have their own private environment while they are developing their respective features.
  
• Our only test database is called TEST.
  
• All databases are managed by Gitora and all Git command are executed using Gitora.
  
• DEV1, DEV2 and TEST start with the same version of the code which is stored in the master branch of their respective Git repositories. (In other words, DEV1/master and DEV2/master are clones of TEST/master)

Developer 1:

• Create a new branch named featureA (DEV1/featureA). Switch DEV1 to use this new branch.
  
• Write code in DEV1
  
• Commit code changes to the DEV1/featureA. Go back to step 2 as many times as needed.

As an example, the Git history in Gitora DEV1 looks like this:

Developer 2:

• Create a new branch named featureB (DEV2/featureB). Switch DEV2 to use this new branch.
  
• Write code in DEV2
  
• Commit code changes to the repository to DEV2/featureB (using Gitora DEV2). Go back to step 2 as many times as needed.

The Git commit history in Gitora DEV2 looks like this:

Moving Code Between Databases

At any point in time, if Developer 1 or Developer 2 decides to send code to TEST (for example, for integration testing purposes..), they follow the steps below.

Please note that in real world development, the workflows described below can be performed simultaneously in DEV1 and DEV2, in no particular order, any number of times until both features are ready to be deployed to production.

The steps below are merely a simplified example of how this workflow takes place.

Developer 1:

• In our example , we assume that Developer 1 is the first developer sending her commits to TEST.
  
• Merge DEV1/featureA to DEV1/master. (DEV1/featureA –> DEV1/master). After the merge, commit history for DEV1 looks like this:

• Pull master branch from DEV1 to TEST. (DEV1/master –> TEST/master). A “Pull” is simply a two step process of fetching a branch from a remote Git repository and then merging it to a local branch. In our example TEST fetches DEV1/master from DEV1 and merges it to TEST/master which we simply show as DEV1/master –> TEST/master.
  
  After the pull, commit history of both TEST and DEV1 looks like this:

Developer 2:

• Pull master branch from TEST to the master branch in DEV2. (TEST/master –> DEV2/master). (In our example, this is necessary, because TEST/master has received new commits from DEV1/master.) After the pull, the commit history looks like this: (Remember, previously we pulled commits from DEV1/master to TEST/master and we also made commits to DEV2/featureB)

• Merge DEV2/featureB to DEV2/master. (DEV2/featureB –> DEV2/master) After the merge, the commit history looks like this:

• Pull master branch from DEV2 to TEST. (DEV2/master –> TEST/master). After the pull, the commit history looks like this:

In other words, in its final state, the source code in the TEST database is a merge of Feature A and B where the commits in TEST/master branch are combined. In our example, the full commit history of DEV1, DEV2 and TEST repositories look like this:

Note that at all times, DEV1/featureA only contains the code for Feature A. Similarly, DEV2/featureB only contains the code for Feature B.

This workflow enables the IT team to exclude Feature A from the next deployment at any point in time before going to production.

Removing Feature A from the Deployment

To achieve this in our example, follow the steps below:

• Revert DEV2/master back to its initial state where no code for Feature B has been committed yet. (This uses the Git reset command.)

• Merge DEV2/featureB to DEV2/master. (DEV2/featureB –> DEV2/master)

• Reset TEST/master to its original state.

• Finally, pull the master branch of DEV2 to the master branch of TEST. (DEV2/master –> TEST/master)

After these steps are completed, the TEST database only contains code changes related to Feature B. We can use Gitora to extract a DDL script which contains only the changes made between the initial and final state of TEST/master and use this script to deploy the new version which only includes Feature B to the production database.

Gitora helps developers execute this workflow with a point&click GUI. Specifically:

• Gitora keeps track of all changes made to the PL/SQL code in DEV1, DEV2 and TEST automatically.
  
• Gitora updates the source code in the Oracle Database automatically when the executed Git command changes the files in the working directory.

Therefore:

• Developers don’t have to remember which PL/SQL objects they modified and what they modified in those objects.
  
• Moving the code between DEV1, DEV2 and TEST is as easy as clicking a button. The team does not need to manually prepare scripts. Gitora can either generate the scripts or update the databases automatically.
  
• Crucially, Gitora enables Developer 1 and Developer 2 to switch between code branches automatically. (For example if the DEV1 database switches from featureA branch to the master branch, Gitora automatically updates the code in the DEV1 database to reflect this change.)

Download Gitora now and try this workflow in your environment.

Last week, we hosted another webinar to talk about Gitora and how it helps Oracle developers manage their PL/SQL code base. Below are the slides we used during the webinar:

You can watch the recording of the webinar below:

Gitora is the version control tool for PL/SQL. It hooks Git to the Oracle Database and enables you to manage your PL/SQL code base easily. Below is a 30 minute demo video which explains the benefits of Gitora and how it works.

We are happy to announce that Gitora 2.1 is available for download. Along with a few bug fixes, Gitora 2.1 enables PL/SQL developers to use Git Tags to label any commit point in the Git repository.

Tags can be used for a variety of use cases but the most common one is to label a Commit ID for specific versions of the code base such as tagging a specific commit with the label “Version 2.0”.

It is very easy to create tags in Gitora. Simply, go to the local commands menu, select “Create Tag” menu item under “Tags”.

 

A dialog shows up.

Enter the name of your tag (no spaces). Enter the commit ID you’d like to attach it to. If you’d like to attach your tag to the HEAD i.e. the most recent commit in the current branch, leave the Commit ID field empty. You may also use a branch name instead of an actual Commit ID.

Click OK to create the tag. If the tag is attached to a commit visible in the Gitora repository browser, it will show up in the Gitora Application.

To delete a tag, select the Delete a Tag menu item under the Tags menu, enter the name of the Tag you’d like to delete and click OK.

Tags are available in Gitora 2.1 Professional Edition. Enjoy! 🙂

Kind Regards,
The Gitora  Team

Gitora enables developers to move changes between databases with a single click.

Gitora can also be used to generate a DDL script from the Git repository which can be used to synchronize the source code between two databases. For example, this feature can be used to generate a script to syncronize a production database to the latest version of the source code in the pre-prod database. This tutorial explains how to use this feature in Gitora.

Assume that we are connected to the preprod database and would like to generate a sync script to upgrade prod to the same state the preprod database is in.

Open the Gitora Application. Select a repo. Next, click the  Git –> Utilities –> Get Script button from the menubar. A dialog shows up.

The Starting Commit ID is the Git Commit ID that is currently deployed in prod. Target Commit ID is the Git Commit ID that we would like to upgrade the prod database to.

Enter the Starting Git Commit ID and the Target Git Commit ID. Use the keyword HEAD if you’d like to use the latest commit in the current active branch as the Target Commit ID.

If you’d like the script to include soft objects (i.e. database objects that execute with CREATE OR REPLACE such as packages, views etc…) check the Include Soft Objects checkbox.

If you’d like the script to include hard objects (i.e. database objects that doesn’t execute with CREATE OR REPLACE such as tables) check the Include Hard Objects checkbox.

Click the Download DDL Script button. Gitora will generate a DDL script which, if executed, will syncronize a schema (or a group of schemas) which is currently at the Starting Commit ID, to the Target Commit ID.

As seen in this example, this feature can be used to apply the latest version of the source code to a production database. If the production database is at Git Commit Point A and the new production-ready version of the source code is at Git Commit Point B, a developer can enter A as the Starting Commit ID and B as the Target Commit ID and then execute the generated script in the production database.

Please note that the table generation is master-detail relationhip aware i.e. the generated tables will be in the correct order with master tables coming before detail tables that reference them.