Liquibase

LiquiBase 2.0 Beta 3 has been released.  Note: This is not yet production ready code and contains known issues

The goal of the beta3 release is to provide a new stable release for entries in the plugin contest to build off of and for others who want to beta test the 2.0 release.

Major changes in the beta3 release include:

• Converting to Maven for our build process
• Major changes to the database snapshot functionality including better flexibility and performance
• Lots of bug fixes

Beta 3 should be the last “re-architecting” release.  From now until the 2.0 final release we are going to focus on new features and bug fixes.  The goal for 2.0 final is mid-September.

As always, let us know if you have any questions or problems.

You can download the newest release from the LiquiBase download page

LiquiBase 1.9.5 has been released, and can be downloaded from http://www.liquibase.org/download

This is purely a bugfix release.  As usual, let us know on the forums if you have any troubles.

Due to us missing milestones on the liquibase 2.0 release, we are pushing the deadline for the plugin contest back to noon Central US time, September 30th. Winners announced October 15th All other rules are the same.

Full details

Just a reminder that we will be having an online meetup in a few hours: Noon US Central Time (GMT-5) using the “Chat” functionality of the LiquiBase community forum (http://liquibase.org/forum/chat/index.php). To log in, you will need to be registered on http://www.liquibase.org/forum/

Hope to see you there!

We will be having an online meetup Wednesday August 19th, 2009 at 12:00 PM US central time (GMT-5) using the “Chat” functionality of the LiquiBase community forum (http://liquibase.org/forum/chat/index.php). To log in, you will need to be registered on http://www.liquibase.org/forum/

I will be there to discuss the upcoming 2.0 release, development processes, outstanding issues and feature requests, and anything else of interest to participants. Planned time is 1 hour.

Hope to see you there

LiquiBase 2.0 beta 2 is now available. You can download it from http://www.liquibase.org/download

There is no new major functionality yet, but lots of reorganized code and a plugin-framework that works with the command line.

Let us know if you have any issues with it.

As part of re-evaluating the LiquiBase APIs as part of the 2.0 codebase, I started an experimental .Net implementation to see what changes would need to be incorporated into the regular codebase to produce a liquibase.dll with as new little code as possible.  I have the code to the point that I know it would work, and can see the direction it would need to go, but I will not have time to fully implement it for quite some time.  That is where you could come in…

Despite thinking about alternate languages, I ended up finding that ikvm is the best option for us.  I was able to split the existing java code into a “core” and “core-jvm” source directories.  The “core” code is/will be java code, but without any jdbc or xml libraries (or java-specific technologies like Ant, Maven, and Servlets).  The core-jvm source is all the remaining “java specific” code.

I then compiled the “core” java library into a dll and added it as a reference in a new “core-clr” source directory and visual studio solution.  I was able to begin implementing the liquibase abstraction interfaces using OleDbConnection-based classes.

What is the current state?  The liquibase code is divided between core, core-jvm, and core-clr, but the core-clr is far from complete.  Since we can use the core liquibase.dll, 90% of the liquibase code will be shared between the two projects, so bugfixes will be applicable to both, new features will be applicable to both, and the .net port will include all the cross-database support and refactorings that currently exist in liquibase.  What needs to be done is:

• Re-implement the connection based logic using OleDbConnection (or better .net interface?).  This includes translating the abstracted liquibase “execute this sql” calls as well as the database metadata reading logic.
• Re-implement the XML parser using .net libraries.  This has not been started, but the abstractions are already there in the liquibase code.
• Create any .Net specific integrations (IIS, NHibernate, MSBuild, Installer, etc.)

If you are interested in helping, please send me an email (nathan [at] voxland.net).  You do not need to be proficient in java to help, we can handle any changes to the java liquibase codebase to support you as needed.

The LiquiBase plugin contest is underway and there is still time to submit your extensions.    If you are looking for inspriation, there is now an “Ideas Page” on the Extension Portal to get you started.

If you are not planning on creating an extension, but have something that you would like to see created, please add it to the list as well.

Remember, the contest deadline is August 31st and the sooner you submit an entry, the more time you have for feedback to improve it before the contest ends.

Beta 1 of LiquiBase 2.0 has been released.  It can be downloaded from http://www.liquibase.org/download.

The main improvement over milestone 1 is that it can be ran against existing changelog scripts, so it can be fully tested with existing databases.

Also, do not forget the LiquiBase Extension Contest currently underway!

LiquiBase 2.0 is all about 3rd party extension and integration, and to help kick that off, we are holding a contest.

Thanks to donations from Atlassian and O’Reilly, we have some great prizes for the winners

Rules

• Your entry must embed or extend LiquiBase
• Extensions must be compatible with Liquibase 2.0 (currently under construction)
• Your plugin must be listed on the LiquiBase Extension Portal
• You must announce your extension and your interest in submitting it to this contest on the LiquiBase User Forum
• There is no license restrictions on your plugin, although we prefer an open source license

Prizes
Grand Prize:

• Your choice of 5 O’Reilly books, donated by O’Reilly
• One copy of PostgreSQL

Runner Up:

• Atlassian laptop bag from Timbuk2 (US$150 value), donated by Atlassian
• One copy of MySQL Community Edition

5x Honorable Mentions:

• Your choice of 1 O’Reilly book, donated by O’Reilly
• One copy of JavaDB

Judging

The winning plugins will be judged by lead developer Nathan Voxland on:

• Usefulness
• Creativity and Elegance
• Completeness
• Code quality and documentation

Key Dates

• June 24th, 2009: Contest opens
• August 31st, 2009, High Noon, US Central Time (GMT-5): Contest closes
• September 15th, 2009: Winners Announced

For more information, see the offical contest page