I was given the task of developing a new platform which would be making use of an existing platform with a database table of about 200 fields

after coming up with a blue print of the new platform,

I suggested that i see the blackend of the old platform so that i can know how to develop the new platform to adapt the datas of the old

customer said i should develop the new,without knowing the database structure of the old then move the database of the old to the new(atleast i still need the details to do this)

i am pretty new in development so ,and i have been wondering how possible is it to develop a platform without knowing the database structures of the old which we are to move to the new .....please not that the new is a bit different from the old

customer is insisting i completely develop the new without seeing the backend while i still need to get to the backend for database exportation

Guys please how do i fix this

basically,i have been requesting for the cpanel details of the current platform which customer have refuse to give

ops

please some imputes oh

If you are going to migrate the old database to the new one, you need access to the old database. Maybe the customer is trying to avoid a copy/paste situation so he wants you to create your own database design first.

As long as you can use the application though and you have a good idea of how it works, you can create your own Tables with corresponding fields/records even though it might not be exactly the same.

When it's time to migrate the old database, you can export old database to excel then map excel columns to columns in your new database.

umitechie:
If you are going to migrate the old database to the new one, you need access to the old database. Maybe the customer is trying to avoid a copy/paste situation so he wants you to create your own database design first.

As long as you can use the application though and you have a good idea of how it works, you can create your own Tables with corresponding fields/records even though it might not be exactly the same.

When it's time to migrate the old database, you can export old database to excel then map excel columns to columns in your new database.

Thanks very much

We are creating a new dBASE,and mapping it just like you said

But the issue is ,there are some database features in the old that is not needed in the new

Yes,they gave a sample of the old in a new test environment but we don't have access to the main applications they are using

Now..please see this again...we will need the same data's to be moved to the new

Not even the entire database as there are certain part of the old they are discarding

I mean ,they are discarding close to 30% of the features of the old

They just need the relevant areas with h some additional features

Your welcome. Well you need to know the features that would not be needed so such fields can be left out of your new Database schema. If management is not cooperative you can ask the people that use this application on a daily basis. Infact interviewing users helps a lot when designing databases from an old application.

If management and users are not cooperative, my brother you might have to move on because at the end of the day when issues arise you will be the first person the blame falls on so be careful.

umitechie:
Your welcome. Well you need to know the features that would not be needed so such fields can be left out of your new Database schema. If management is not cooperative you can ask the people that use this application on a daily basis. Infact interviewing users helps a lot when designing databases from an old application.

If management and users are not cooperative, my brother you might have to move on because at the end of the day when issues arise you will be the first person the blame falls on so be careful.

Thanks very much

Reverse Engineering in play...

No worries. You can also make key stakeholders in the project know that your Database and its Tables & Fields are subject to change till data migration is complete and remember to mention that this might affect deadlines eventually. Good luck

barapistis:




Thanks very much

barapistis:
I was given the task of developing a new platform which would be making use of an existing platform with a database table of about 200 fields

after coming up with a blue print of the new platform,

I suggested that i see the blackend of the old platform so that i can know how to develop the new platform to adapt the datas of the old

customer said i should develop the new,without knowing the database structure of the old then move the database of the old to the new(atleast i still need the details to do this)

i am pretty new in development so ,and i have been wondering how possible is it to develop a platform without knowing the database structures of the old which we are to move to the new .....please not that the new is a bit different from the old

customer is insisting i completely develop the new without seeing the backend while i still need to get to the backend for database exportation

Guys please how do i fix this

basically,i have been requesting for the cpanel details of the current platform which customer have refuse to give

A simple API could help you and ease your work greatly. Build an API with a private endpoint for data migration... All you need to do is call the new app's migration endpoint of the API from the old app and things should fit well. The only place you could run into issues is if the old app is of another database type (NoSql, PostgreSql etc) then you need to be able to switch syntaxes (casting) to fit different conditions....

This is no small task for a junior dev so I suggest you report to your seniors in your organization.

they need a prototype before they give you the old database schema? If that's the case, focus on building the prototype for now. You can restructure the old database later to fit in or chunk out the data from the old database in a restful api client/server format. e.g ?action=getUsers should print out a json data for all the users from the old database in accordance to the new database schema which you can convert into objects and save in the new database.

Elitecoderng:
they need a prototype before they give you the old database schema? If that's the case, focus on building the prototype for now. You can restructure the old database later to fit in or chunk out the data from the old database in a restful api client/server format. e.g ?action=getUsers should print out a json data for all the users from the old database in accordance to the new database schema which you can convert into objects and save in the new database.

thanks man

Elitecoderng:
they need a prototype before they give you the old database schema? If that's the case, focus on building the prototype for now. You can restructure the old database later to fit in or chunk out the data from the old database in a restful api client/server format. e.g ?action=getUsers should print out a json data for all the users from the old database in accordance to the new database schema which you can convert into objects and save in the new database.

What if the OP favours building the system from the model (DB) ?
I think the people requesting the app should give the OP a detailed worded description of what they need so (s)he can build the prototype properly. Let them give OP the core features of the system in words or writing.
@barapistis
From my own background (UML, Java and general system engineering principles) the need to provide you with a high level detail.

you know the truth, follow the truth