Simple Db Migration Tool

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.

– Edsger W. Dijkstra

One of the common problem with web-based application is how to handle database migration. Often times the answer to this is to use the migration tool that comes with the ORM the system relies on.

In the past, as the system grew to use multiple layers each with its own runtime / language / ORM , I was forced to maintain db migration in one of the layer. Thus I came to realize that an ORM agnostic db migration tool would be the ideal approach.

One of the simplest db migration tool I have encountered is shmig - A database migration tool written in BASH consisting of just one file! Shmig even supports creating test data (which is another gnarly issue worth a blog post).

If you are looking for a db migration tool I reccomend you take a look at shmig.