Serious Advice Required Please!!!

I am about to embark upon a project with someone and we are going to be sharing files. The project is going to be using .NET, CSS and we think Microsoft SQL. I need some straight advice on how this will work please.

I have developed my own web site with MSAccess, ASP and HTML and I've worked locally and then copied the files and the database file via FTP to my site and oilla it runs. Easy peasy. But no one has shared this data and it's very very easy to copy the Access database.

So, how would this work with .NET and SQL? I'm quite confused as to the best way to do this. Please bear in mind that we do not have a hosting solution yet so advice on this would be excellent too.

I have some direct questions which may help you guide me.

How would hosting work?

Can we host a Microsoft SQL database with a hosting company?

How would we share the database schema and files?

How would we upload changes?

Is it possible to work on-line so to speak as well as offline?

How would we share the database if we are both going to be working offline and then copy our changes up?

As you might gather from the questions I am a little confused as to how this should really work with an SQL solution.

Please can someone offer some practical advice on how we should work with an SQL Database solution and what we should be looking for in our hosting solution?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.
Phil.

with the projects i have worked on with others we have split the tasks up and each person was responsible for different parts and if there was a problem with it then that person was told and that person fixed it. That makes the integrity of the code far easier to manage. The same with the DB, assign it all to one of you or if it is big then assign different tables to the responsibility of one person.

oh and good communication is essential because the pages you create seperatly will have to be integrated together at some stage

hope that helps a little.

You can host SQL server databases with a hosting company. As long as the host provides that service.

There are various ways to share database schemas within SQL Server.

• Backup and restore

• DTS of relavent bits

• SQL Script generation

• And probably others

You would upload changes to code using FTP as normal, changes to the database - see above

Typically one person would look after the database. All changes being channelled through him. And as radioactive frog says, coding would be broken up in to discrete areas with different people having responsibilty for that area.

I would designate one person to be the overall controller for the code. This person - and only this person puts code on to the live server.

Also make sure you are all working from the same version of the spec.

Edit: Oh and have someone who is not tied to closely to the code as an impartial tester. They should ideally have a similiar level of computer literacy as your target audience.

This was added after Elija's post which I'm about to read.

Thanks RadioActiveFrog but I'm more concerned with how we are going to update the database from offline to online and such like.

Any ideas anyone?

All I did with MSAccess was copy the mdb file to the server and Bob's your uncle. How would I do this with an SQL database with a hosting solution. If I owned a server that was hosting my own website then it would be fine. If I'm hosting elsewhere, which is what I must do because I know absolutely nothing about server security and CISCO and things like that, then how would it work there???

Do you see what I'm getting at?

Thanks loads for your comments Elija. Very helpful.

One last thing for clarification...


So I imagine there would be a control panel or such like with the hosting company that will allow me to add database fields, backup, restore, etc, etc...

Yes\no??

Possibly, the hosting companies I have used have all allowed access through Enterprise Manager and Query Analyser so you would have to check that with your chosen host. Being able to use the MS Tools would be my preferred option though.

That would be absolutely perfect.

How did it work in practice? (Register a database in SQL on continue as if the database were on a local network???)
Who did you use?
How much did it cost for a single database?

Any answers to these are good and in particular the first one. I understand if the final two are personal and you prefer not to answer.

Thanks again.

In practice:

Have a local (development) version of the database AND a hosted (live) version of the database. Have both registered in SQL Server Enterprise Manager.

Have both connection strings in a global.asa application_onstart subroutine, conditioned on a test that idenfies the environment. All developers can then have their own development database connection without affecting the live one.

Mostly, we use our own servers where I work, but one of our clients uses a host called twang.net. They seem to be pretty good.

I have no idea what they charge for a SQL Server. I should warn you that in EM, you will see EVERYONES databases, but only be able to access your own.

Fantastic help. Thanks very much Elija. You've been more helpful than you will ever know! Yipee!

I can't give you any more rep points as I've given them to you recently. I'll look out for your posts at a later date though!!!

Do you think you will ever mod the SQL forum? It's evident that you have the skills!!!

Phil

I don't think I will ever get to do that....

My SQL skills are good enough to T&E my way to an answer to most things beyond the basic and be bl**dy dangerous the rest of the time. My SQL Server admin skills leave a lot more to be desired. But with luck, I'll be getting a training course soon

I think you are selling yourself short a little. Good luck with the course mate!!!