4.3.2. Scripts to Create and Update the Database

A CUBA-application project always contains two sets of scripts:

  • Scripts to create the database, intended for the creation of the database from scratch. They contain a set of the DDL and DML operators, which create an empty database schema that is fully consistent with the current state of the data model of the application. These scripts can also fill the database with the necessary initialization data.

  • Scripts to update the database, intended for bringing the database structure to the current state of the data model from any of the previous states.

When changing the data model, it is necessary to reproduce the corresponding change of the database schema in create and update scripts. For example, when adding the address attribute to the Customer entity, it is necessary to:

  1. Change the table creation script:

    create table SALES_CUSTOMER (
  ID varchar(36) not null,
  CREATE_TS timestamp,
  CREATED_BY varchar(50),
  NAME varchar(100),
  ADDRESS varchar(200), -- added column
  primary key (ID)
)

  2. Add an update script, which modifies the same table:

    alter table SALES_CUSTOMER add ADDRESS varchar(200)

The create scripts are located in the /db/init directory of the core module. For each type of DBMS supported by the application, a separate set of scripts is created and located in the subdirectory specified in cuba.dbmsType application property, for example /db/init/postgres. Create scripts names should have the following format {optional_prefix}create-db.sql.

The update scripts are located in the /db/update directory of the core module. For each type of DBMS supported by the application, a separate set of scripts is created and located in the subdirectory specified in cuba.dbmsType application property, for example, /db/update/postgres.

The update scripts can be of two types: with the *.sql or *.groovy extension. The primary way to update the database is with SQL scripts. Groovy scripts are only executed by the server mechanism to launch database scripts, Therefore they are mainly used at the production stage, in cases when migration or import of the data that cannot be implemented in pure SQL.

The update scripts should have names, which form the correct sequence of their execution when sorted in the alphabetical order (usually, it is a chronological sequence of their creation). Therefore, when creating such scripts manually, it is recommended to specify the name of the update scripts in the following format: {yymmdd}-{description}.sql, where yy is a year, mm is a month, dd is a day, and description is a short description of the script. For example, 121003-addCodeToCategoryAttribute.sql. Studio also adheres to this format when generating scripts automatically.

It is possible to group update scripts into subdirectories, however the path to the script with the subdirectory should not break the chronological sequence. For example, subdirectories can be created by using year, or by year and month.

In a deployed application, the scripts to create and update the database are located in a special database script directory, that is set by the cuba.dbDir application property.