Comparing the CREATE statements for a database file of each version reveals changes to persisting tables in addition to tables deleted and added per First Look at RM8 #Database. This post provides DDL files from RM7.6.5 and the RM8 Preview 7.9.101. The two files can be compared line by line in Notepad++ using the Compare plugin, a screenshot of which is shown below.
By rearranging the order of statements in the two different files to juxtapose tables whose names have changed, the coloured comparison is even more effective. The next screenshot shows how RM7’s LabelTable has been transformed to RM8’s TagTable. RM7’s ResearchItemTable and ResearchTable have been consolidated into RM8’s TaskTable with an indirection via the new TaskLinkTable.
These graphical comparisons help in finding the more subtle changes that may imply things to watch out for. For example, why has SortDate been changed from Integer to BigInt?
Several of the RM7 blob fields that held text are now showing as Text datatype, noticeably Notes fields.
Sort date as bigint is more suitable for genealogy as it covers a larger date range than int.
There are new fields on the person table including Display, Language,
SurnameMP, GivenMP and NicknameMP and it will be interesting to see how these are used.