Re: [ecto:3596] Digest for elixir-ecto@googlegroups.com - 1 update in 1 topic

[Onorio Catenacci]

Not that you asked but I would question how much of a need there is for importing legacy Postgresql data sources. MS SQLSever, yes.  Oracle, yes. But I don't see that PGSql is going to be involved in a lot of legacy work.  Nothing wrong with what you've done--I'd just target MS SQLSever and Oracle first. Just my suggestion, of course.

On Mon, Apr 20, 2026 at 5:11 PM <elixi...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

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• Proposal: database-first scaffolding support for Ecto ecosystem - 1 Update

Proposal: database-first scaffolding support for Ecto ecosystem

Syed Rohaan Alam <rohaana...@gmail.com>: Apr 20 09:57AM -0700 I built a prototype Mix library called `ecto_database_first` that introspects an existing PostgreSQL database and generates:   - Ecto schemas - context modules - optional migration snapshots - a scaffold report with warnings and guidance   It also normalizes quoted/mixed-case PostgreSQL identifiers into valid Elixir and Ecto code and supports configuration-driven execution from the consuming application.   *Motivation*   There is a common need for teams adopting Ecto on existing databases to get a clean, idiomatic starting point instead of hand-writing every schema and association from scratch.   The goal is not just reverse engineering, but generation of maintainable code that keeps querying inside contexts and surfaces schema issues in a report.   *Question*   Would the Ecto maintainers consider this kind of feature:   1. appropriate for `ecto` 2. more appropriate for `ecto_sql` 3. or better kept as a standalone Hex package in the Ecto ecosystem   *Current scope of the prototype*   - PostgreSQL introspection - Ecto schema generation - context generation - association generation - optional snapshot migrations - scaffold report with schema guidance - support for app config plus CLI overrides   *Note:*   I understand Ecto core is intentionally stable and selective about new surface area, so I would appreciate guidance on whether this should be proposed as a smaller integration point instead of a full upstream feature.

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[Syed Rohaan Alam]

Thank you very much for taking the time to review my work and for your thoughtful feedback — I genuinely appreciate it.

Your suggestion about prioritizing MS SQL Server and Oracle is very helpful. I actually am already working with Oracle as well, and MS SQL Server support was previously included in the prototype too, though I haven’t yet updated the repository to reflect that properly. I’ll make sure to align the documentation and scope accordingly as I continue refining it.

I also wanted to say that your feedback was especially valuable to me. It gave me a much clearer direction on where to focus and how to position the project going forward.

Thank you again for your time, insight, and honest suggestions — I really appreciate it.