It is much easier to rename a column when all you got is one production site, a testing site and a few development sites. In our case, changing a column would require
- Change a column in the table definition file - Write an upgrade script and test it against trunk + 2 branches - Rebuild the 2 release branches - Test the new builds - Get permission from clients who need the change about upgrading - Push out the change across 60+ servers in the evenings - Send the patches + upgrade instructions to clients who are not hosted with us - Wait for the support calls in the morning when clients found some incompatibility :)
Around a week of work, and we are already trying to be as agile as possible :(
Moreover, I found when the development only involves micro-iterations, people are less likely to work on re-factoring and re-architecturing the code, which are usually necessary when you are looking at 5+ years into the project...
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- Change a column in the table definition file
- Write an upgrade script and test it against trunk + 2 branches
- Rebuild the 2 release branches
- Test the new builds
- Get permission from clients who need the change about upgrading
- Push out the change across 60+ servers in the evenings
- Send the patches + upgrade instructions to clients who are not hosted with us
- Wait for the support calls in the morning when clients found some incompatibility :)
Around a week of work, and we are already trying to be as agile as possible :(
Moreover, I found when the development only involves micro-iterations, people are less likely to work on re-factoring and re-architecturing the code, which are usually necessary when you are looking at 5+ years into the project...