Opinions on Creating Db Documentation 1

[meBrian]

I am looking for other people's opinion on how much how or little documentation (printed or electronic) they create concerning databases for one instance of SQL. Also, what information do you record and what format do you prefer?
I've never worked for a company that pushed documentation past a few notes on a notepad and now I'm in a position to make those decisions and would like to hear how others address it.

Thanks for all your input.

 

[JayKusch]

If you can get your DB developers or whoever created objects in the DB to enter in descriptions as they create objects in SQL Server, you can use Extended Properties(EP) to pull out just about everything you would need to create a Data Dictionary.

Creating the descriptions when you create a table is rather easy since you can enter the info in the table designer. As for other objects, you can implement the use of EPs to capture those descriptions too.

Thanks

J. Kusch

 

[MDXer]

I Shoot for
Table Names
Owner
FileGroup
Column Names
Purpose
DataType
Nullability
Default
Identity
PK
FK
Stored Procedures
Purpose
Owner
Filegroup
Dependencies
Indexes
Owner
DDL


Shoot Me! Shoot Me NOW!!!
- Daffy Duck

 

[meBrian]

Thanks for the info. I was a little too basic then.

Follow-up question:
Is there a way to grab (export) a db maintenenace job's details?

I'm needing to outine the backup strategy to include frequency and times in a company policy and subsequent procedure.

Thanks.

 

[JayKusch]

No way to extract details out of a Maint Plans as you need them. You would have to open each and extract the details. Of course you may also need to check the SQL Server Jobs that may have been created by the maintenance plan. They will/may contain other information that the Maint Plan does not relay.

Thanks

J. Kusch

 

[meBrian]

Thanks for your help. Have a star.