Managing larger live systems

[treed]

Hi all, As our company has become more reliant on nuBuilder for our database, I'm starting to wonder how to manage development in larger environments. The 2 scenarios I see are, 1) a new form/module is added and you don't want users to use it until it's ready, It would be nice to able to sandbox a copy of the system and then move the completed form/module into the production system. 2) extensive work is needed to add new features/functionality to an existing form, again it would be nice to be able to sandbox the new version and then move it into the production system.

So is there anything in nuBuilder along these lines or what/is there a plan for larger development projects???

[nc07]

Hi all, As our company has become more reliant on nuBuilder for our database, I'm starting to wonder how to manage development in larger environments. The 2 scenarios I see are, 1) a new form/module is added and you don't want users to use it until it's ready, It would be nice to able to sandbox a copy of the system and then move the completed form/module into the production system. 2) extensive work is needed to add new features/functionality to an existing form, again it would be nice to be able to sandbox the new version and then move it into the production system.

So is there anything in nuBuilder along these lines or what/is there a plan for larger development projects???

You can clone the existing form and make further developments to it. The cloned form will not be available to users unless it's assigned to them. once development is done the forms can be swapped with the clone one, just a thought.

[treed]

That's a step in the right direction, however if data structures change between the new and old form there's a problem. I don't need these capabilities right now, I'm just interested in what the longer term plans are as this product matures.

[kev1n]

however if data structures change between the new and old form there's a problem

What exactly do you mean by that?

[treed]

Say based on user requests, a simple form expands both the number of fields updated and functionality. Would the developer clone the simple form, make the modifications, then delete the simple form and clone the modified form to the simple forms code? This could work on smaller projects, but working on live data can cause disasters. Is there a way to move parts of a project from instance A of nuBuilder to instance B on another server? Or would I need to develop a set of database scripts to pull the pieces out and then run the scripts on instance B?

[kev1n]

I very often add new objects directly in the live form by making them invisible to the user and only visible to the administrator.
For major revisions, I make a clone of a form and transfer the form to a dev environment.
Afterwards, I copy it back and the old form is replaced by the new one.

[treed]

Ah, there's some interesting info there. How dose one transfer a clone of a form to another environment??? And how is the visibility of an object set at the user level???

[kev1n]

Open the cloner, select your form, hit "run" to view the SQL. Then run it in your other DB.

Set an object's access to "hidden (user)" to hide it for users.

[treed]

Hi Kevin, Thanks for the reply, these methods seem workable for where I'm at in the development cycle. However I now have more questions then answers.
First, what is "the cloner" I see nothing like that in my system. When cloning a form there is just a "save" button, no "run" button. Where is the cloner found?

Second, I see no where to "Set an objects access level", I do see this for forms. Where is it found?

[kev1n]

Cloner: See Database tab, button Cloner.

Setting on object's Access to "Hidden (User)" will hide it for users but not for globeadmin.

access_hidden.png