Skip to content

Documentation: Add database guides for NOT NULL constraints

What does this MR do?

This MR adds documentation and guidance related to NOT NULL constraints:

  1. When to add NOT NULL constraints
  2. How to add/remove NOT NULL constraints in migrations
  3. How to update existing columns and run a data migration to clean up existing invalid records

It addresses the questions raised in #31833 (closed)

  • should we be adding a constraint for presence validated fields?
  • how do we approach the cleanup of problem data already on gitlab.com and in customer instances?

and covers all other use cases as well.

Related issues

Closes #31833 (closed)

Author's checklist (required)

When applicable:

Review checklist

All reviewers can help ensure accuracy, clarity, completeness, and adherence to the Documentation Guidelines and Style Guide.

1. Primary Reviewer

  • Review by a code reviewer or other selected colleague to confirm accuracy, clarity, and completeness. This can be skipped for minor fixes without substantive content changes.

2. Technical Writer

  • Optional: Technical writer review. If not requested for this MR, must be scheduled post-merge. To request for this MR, assign the writer listed for the applicable DevOps stage.

3. Maintainer

  1. Review by assigned maintainer, who can always request/require the above reviews. Maintainer's review can occur before or after a technical writer review.
  2. Ensure a release milestone is set.
  3. If there has not been a technical writer review, create an issue for one using the Doc Review template.
Edited by 🤖 GitLab Bot 🤖

Merge request reports