I started learning Java and Android development recently, and I'm learning by building a small app for myself. Nothing fancy, it's just a simple mileage tracker for my car. I know there are tons of them available, but I figured it would be an easy app to learn on.
Anyway, I've reached a point now where I want to dogfood the app, but I want to do it while also adding new features to it. Problem is, the app is using an SQLite database, and when I test new features I have to add / edit / remove records, but I also want to keep these records, since I'm creating them by actually using the app in my day to day life.
How do you usually approach this situation? I figured I have two options:
- Dogfood a stable branch/tag of the application, and create a new application from the development branches. Basically I would have two apps, the stable version which I'm currently using, and the development instance, where I can hack and slash as I please.
- Use two SQLite databases in the same app, and implement a simple switch between them.
How do you handle this situation?