Audience: EDW data users, report developers, and anyone who works with EDW queries or reports.

This page explains what a breaking change is, why we make them, how they affect your work, and what to expect when a breaking change is coming.

What is a Breaking Change?

A breaking change is a database update that may cause existing queries, reports, or dashboards to stop working if not updated. Breaking changes remove or modify existing structures that your tools may rely on.

Examples of breaking changes:

• Removing a table or view
• Removing a column from a table
• Changing the data type of a column
• Changing a column from “NOT NULL” to nullable
• Renaming a table or view
• Renaming one or more columns

What is not a breaking change:

• Adding new tables or views
• Adding new columns
• Changing the order of columns
• Changing a column from nullable to “NOT NULL”
• Shortening the length of a string column

Why We Make Breaking Changes

Breaking changes are necessary to:

• Retire outdated or duplicate structures
• Improve naming clarity and consistency
• Standardize data formats
• Support future development
• Enhance performance and maintainability

We do our best to limit the frequency and scope of breaking changes.

Who Is Affected?

You may be affected if you:

• Write SQL queries
• Use dashboards built on EDW data
• Manage data integrations or reports

If your work depends on a table, column, or data type that is being changed, you’ll need to update your tools or code.

When Breaking Changes Happen

Breaking changes follow a set schedule and communication plan to help you prepare.

Notification timeline:

• 3 weeks before the change: You’ll receive an email from edwdata@uw.edu. This goes to the relevant EDW mailing list and users identified by the usage report.
• 1 day before the change: A reminder email is sent.
• After the change is released: We log the change on the EDW Alerts page. The page is updated again 3 days later.

How We Minimize Disruption

We plan every breaking change to minimize impact.

• When we rename a column, we leave both the old and new columns in the table for 3 weeks before removing the old one.
• When we rename a table, both the old and new tables exist side-by-side with the same data for 3 weeks.

This gives you time to update your work before the old version is removed.

What You Should Do

If you receive a breaking change notice:

1. Review the changes listed in the email.
2. Check your use of the affected tables or columns.
3. Update any queries or tools that rely on the old structure.
4. Contact edwdata@uw.edu if you have questions or need help.

Summary

Breaking changes are planned schema updates that may affect how you use EDW data. We announce changes early, provide time for transition, and offer support along the way.

By understanding what a breaking change is and preparing for it, you can avoid disruptions to your work.