# Why Goose Instead of Atlas? - Decision Explained

## TL;DR

**Use Goose for TraceRTM because:**
- ✅ Simple to implement (5 minutes vs 15 minutes)
- ✅ Embedded migrations (compile into binary)
- ✅ Works perfectly with pgx
- ✅ Large community
- ✅ Production-proven
- ✅ No external dependencies

**Consider Atlas later if:**
- You want auto-generated migrations
- Schema becomes complex
- You need schema drift detection
- You're using Ent ORM

## The Two Approaches

### Goose: Versioned Migrations (Traditional)
```sql
-- +goose Up
CREATE TABLE users (id UUID PRIMARY KEY);

-- +goose Down
DROP TABLE users;
```

**Workflow:**
1. Write SQL migration
2. Goose tracks which migrations ran
3. Apply migrations in order
4. Rollback if needed

### Atlas: Schema-as-Code (Declarative)
```hcl
table "users" {
  column "id" {
    type = uuid
    primary_key = true
  }
}
```

**Workflow:**
1. Define schema in HCL
2. Atlas generates migrations
3. Apply migrations
4. Detect schema drift

## Key Differences

| Aspect | Goose | Atlas |
|--------|-------|-------|
| **Approach** | Versioned | Declarative |
| **Migration Writing** | Manual | Auto-generated |
| **Schema Definition** | In migrations | In schema.hcl |
| **Embedded Support** | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| **Learning Curve** | Easy | Medium |
| **Setup Time** | 5 min | 15 min |
| **Community** | Large | Growing |
| **Maturity** | Proven | Newer |

## Why Goose for TraceRTM

### 1. Simplicity
- Easy to understand
- Traditional approach
- Familiar to most developers
- No new concepts to learn

### 2. Embedded Migrations
- Compile migrations into binary
- Single binary deployment
- No separate migration files
- Perfect for containerization

### 3. pgx Integration
- Direct integration with pgx
- No abstraction layer
- Type-safe
- Works perfectly with sqlc

### 4. Community
- Large community
- Lots of Stack Overflow help
- Many examples
- Production-proven

### 5. Production-Proven
- Used in many projects
- Stable and mature
- No API changes expected
- Battle-tested

### 6. No External Dependencies
- Keep stack pure Go
- Minimal overhead
- Easy to maintain
- No version conflicts

## Why Not Atlas (For Now)

### 1. Steeper Learning Curve
- HCL syntax to learn
- Different mental model
- More configuration
- Overkill for simple projects

### 2. No Embedded Migrations
- CLI-only approach
- Can't compile into binary
- Requires separate deployment
- More complex deployment

### 3. Smaller Community
- Less Stack Overflow help
- Fewer examples
- Newer tool (started 2022)
- Less production experience

### 4. Overkill for TraceRTM
- Schema is not that complex
- Auto-generation not needed
- Overhead not justified
- Simpler solution exists

### 5. Less Mature
- Fewer production deployments
- Potential bugs
- API changes possible
- Less battle-tested

## When to Use Atlas

✅ **Use Atlas if:**
- You want auto-generated migrations
- Schema becomes complex
- You need schema drift detection
- You're using Ent ORM
- You want declarative schema
- You have multiple databases

❌ **Don't use Atlas if:**
- You prefer manual control
- You need embedded migrations
- You want simplicity
- You have simple schema
- You prefer versioned migrations

## Migration Path: Goose → Atlas

If you start with Goose and want to migrate to Atlas later:

```bash
# 1. Export current schema
atlas schema inspect -u "postgresql://..." --format hcl > schema.hcl

# 2. Create schema.hcl
# Edit schema.hcl to match your schema

# 3. Generate migrations with Atlas
atlas migrate diff --env local

# 4. Switch to Atlas
atlas migrate apply --env prod
```

This is possible because both tools work with PostgreSQL!

## Decision Matrix

```
Simple project?
├─ YES → Use Goose ✅
└─ NO → Need auto-generation?
    ├─ YES → Use Atlas
    └─ NO → Use Goose ✅
```

## Recommendation

**For TraceRTM: START WITH GOOSE**

Reasons:
- ✅ Simple to implement (5 minutes)
- ✅ Works perfectly with pgx
- ✅ Embedded migrations support
- ✅ Large community
- ✅ Production-proven
- ✅ No external dependencies

**Consider Atlas Later If:**
- ✅ You want auto-generated migrations
- ✅ Schema becomes complex
- ✅ You need schema drift detection
- ✅ You're using Ent ORM
- ✅ You want declarative schema

## Conclusion

**Goose is the right choice for TraceRTM because:**

1. **Simplicity** - Easy to understand and implement
2. **Embedded migrations** - Compile into binary
3. **pgx integration** - Works perfectly with your driver
4. **Community** - Large and helpful
5. **Production-proven** - Used in many projects
6. **No dependencies** - Keep stack pure Go

**You can always migrate to Atlas later if needed.**

Both tools work with PostgreSQL, so migration is possible without losing data.

## Next Steps

1. Start with Goose (5 minutes to setup)
2. Implement migrations
3. If you need auto-generation later, migrate to Atlas
4. Both tools work with PostgreSQL, so migration is possible

**Ready to implement? Start with GO_MIGRATIONS_GUIDE.md!**

