Cambridge UK, 17 November 2015 – The industry standard tool for SQL Server version control now features improved Git integration, making it even easier to use. SQL Source Control v4.1 has just been released and allows users to commit to a local Git repository, and push and pull from remote Git repositories from within SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).

An SSMS plug-in that links databases to version control systems, SQL Source Control gives users the ability to version control database schemas and reference data, roll back changes, and maintain the referential integrity of databases.

Improving the existing Git support is the latest step in a long line of updates to the tool that have already included object locking to prevent changes from being overwritten, and UI improvements to make configuration easier. It follows the increasing adoption of Git and, in particular, the announcement in the Eclipse Community Survey 2014 that Git had overtaken SVN as the most popular version control system.

To increase support for distributed version control systems like Git, the development team at Redgate Software had to do some complicated work behind the scenes. SQL Source Control was originally designed to work with a centralized version control system, and adding the extra stage of working with a local Git repository had a big impact on the user workflow and way code is shared and tested.

While a lot of effort has enabled these latest improvements in the software, the user interface has deliberately been designed to make it intuitively simple. The result is that rather than having to leave SSMS and use a tool like SourceTree to push to and pull from remote Git repositories, Git users can do it with one tool they are already familiar with and use every day.

The work has also opened the door to giving Git users access to a version control revision history of any database or database object linked to a Git repository from within SSMS. This enables them to see each database revision in version control, know who made each revision and when they made it, understand which objects were changed in each commit, and view the SQL differences for each object.

Mickey Stuewe, a Senior Database Developer, is excited at the development. “I’ve used SQL Source Control for five years because it handles the script side of things so well. Like many developers, I’ve grown to like Git rather than SVN because the branching features are better. Now I can use two of my favorite pieces of software together.”

Development of SQL Source Control continues at Redgate and future releases will include further enhancements to migrations feature as well as major improvements to the Commit tab performance.