Cloning an SQL Server 2008 Database Schema to a new Database - Programatically (PHP?)

Question

I've done some Googling and searching on SO, but I have not been able to find much help on the matter. I am designing a web service which utilizes an Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Server. The relevant structure is something like this... There is a main database which houses all Primary Account/Company information (Company name, address, etc..). In addition, there are databases for each Account/Company which houses all of the relevant (meta?)data for that account (users, settings, etc...).

SQL2008 Server
|---MainDatabase
|-------Accounts Table
|-----------Account Record where ID = 1
|-----------Account Record where ID = 2
|-----------Account Record where ID = 3
|---AccountDatabase00001
|-------Users Table for account where ID = 1
|---AccountDatabase00001
|-------Users Table for account where ID = 2

When a new account is created (let's say, ID=3), I am trying to figure out a way to clone the table schema and views (NOT the data) of AccountDatabase0001 into a new database called AccountDatabase00003 . I could use virtually any language to perform the duplication as long as it can be called from a PHP page somehow.

Has anyone come across such a PHP script, or a script in any other such language for that matter? Is there a command I can send the the SQL server to do this for me? I'm sure I could find my way through manually traversing the structure and writing SQL statements to create each object, but I'm hoping for something more simple.

Answer 1

You can do this using SMO without too much trouble. Here's one site that gives specific code for it. The code is in C#, but hopefully you can integrate it or translate it into PHP.

Answer 2

I found a remotely simply way to accomplish this in PHP with a little help from a custom-written stored procedure which need only exist in the database you wish to clone (for me it's always AccountDatabase_1 ). You pass the Table name to the Stored Procedure, and it returns the script you need to run in order to create it (which we will do, on the second database). For views, the creation script is actually stored in the Information_Schema.Views table, so you can just pull the view names and creation code from that to create clones very easily.

STORED PROC GenerateScript()

USE [SOURCE_DATABASE_NAME]
GO
SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO
SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
ALTER Procedure [dbo].[GenerateScript] 
(            
    @tableName varchar(100)
)            
as            
If exists (Select * from Information_Schema.COLUMNS where Table_Name= @tableName)            
Begin            
    declare @sql varchar(8000)            
    declare @table varchar(100)            
    declare @cols table (datatype varchar(50))          
    insert into @cols values('bit')          
    insert into @cols values('binary')          
    insert into @cols values('bigint')          
    insert into @cols values('int')          
    insert into @cols values('float')          
    insert into @cols values('datetime')          
    insert into @cols values('text')          
    insert into @cols values('image')          
    insert into @cols values('uniqueidentifier')          
    insert into @cols values('smalldatetime')          
    insert into @cols values('tinyint')          
    insert into @cols values('smallint')          
    insert into @cols values('sql_variant')          

    set @sql='' 

    Select 
        @sql=@sql+             
        case when charindex('(',@sql,1)<=0 then '(' else '' end +Column_Name + ' ' +Data_Type + 
        case when Column_name='id' then ' IDENTITY ' else '' end +            
        case when Data_Type in (Select datatype from @cols) then '' else  '(' end+
        case when data_type in ('real','money','decimal','numeric')  then cast(isnull(numeric_precision,'') as varchar)+','+
        case when data_type in ('real','money','decimal','numeric') then cast(isnull(Numeric_Scale,'') as varchar) end
        when data_type in ('char','nvarchar','nchar') then cast(isnull(Character_Maximum_Length,'') as varchar) else '' end+
        case when data_type ='varchar' and Character_Maximum_Length<0 then 'max' else '' end+
        case when data_type ='varchar' and Character_Maximum_Length>=0 then cast(isnull(Character_Maximum_Length,'') as varchar) else '' end+
        case when Data_Type in (Select datatype from @cols)then '' else  ')' end+
        case when Is_Nullable='No ' then ' Not null ' else ' null ' end + 
        case when Column_Default is not null then 'DEFAULT ' + Column_Default else '' end + ','
    from 
        Information_Schema.COLUMNS where Table_Name=@tableName            

    select  
        @table=  'Create table ' + table_Name 
    from 
        Information_Schema.COLUMNS 
    where 
        table_Name=@tableName            

    select @sql=@table + substring(@sql,1,len(@sql)-1) +' )'            

    select @sql  as DDL         

End            

Else        
    Select 'The table '+@tableName + ' does not exist'           

PHP

function cloneAccountDatabase($new_id){

    $srcDatabaseName = "AccountDatabase_1"; //The Database we are cloning
    $sourceConn = openDB($srcDatabaseName);

    $destDatabaseName = "AccountDatabase_".(int)$new_id;
    $destConn = openDB($destDatabaseName);

    //ENSURE DATABASE EXISTS, OR CREATE IT      
    if ($destConn==null){
        odbc_exec($sourceConn, "CREATE database " . $destDatabaseName);
        $destConn = openDB($destDatabaseName);
    }

    //BUILD ARRAY OF TABLE NAMES
    $tables = array();
    $q = odbc_exec($sourceConn, "SELECT name FROM sys.Tables");
    while (odbc_fetch_row($q))
        $tables[]=odbc_result($q,"name");


    //CREATE TABLES
    foreach ($tables as $tableName){
        $q=odbc_exec($sourceConn, "exec GenerateScript '$tableName';");
        odbc_fetch_row($q);
        $sql = odbc_result($q, 'ddl');
        $q=odbc_exec($destConn, $sql);
    }

    //BUILD ARRAY OF VIEW NAMES AND CREATE
    $q = odbc_exec($sourceConn, "SELECT * FROM Information_Schema.Views");
    while (odbc_fetch_row($q)){
        $view=odbc_result($q,"table_name");
        $sql = odbc_result($q, "view_definition");
        odbc_exec($destConn, $sql);
    }           

    return(true);   
}

UPDATE

The CLONEDATABASE function is available in newer versions of MSSQL.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/database-console-commands/dbcc-clonedatabase-transact-sql?view=sql-server-2017

//Clone AccountDatabase_1 to a database called AccountDatabase_2

DBCC CLONEDATABASE (AccountDatabase_1, AccountDatabase_2) WITH VERIFY_CLONEDB, NO_STATISTICS;
ALTER DATABASE AccountDatabase_2 SET READ_WRITE WITH NO_WAIT;