Your app doesn't know when another program changed your database

rahib khan — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 04:44:57 +0000

I ran into this while working on a manufacturing app.

One workstation could be showing old data while an ERP or another application had already changed the database.

The usual solution? Click Refresh.

Timers don't really solve it. Custom “something changed” tables don't work when another application writes directly to the database.

But the database already knows when something changed.

SQL Server has Change Tracking.
SQLite has PRAGMA data_version.

So I built DbSignal — a .NET library that turns those database capabilities into a simple change-feed API.

The interesting part wasn't making every database look identical.

It was being honest about what each database can actually tell you.

Two providers, both proven: SQL Server and SQLite.

PostgreSQL and MySQL are designed, but not implemented yet.

Two proven beats four promised.

📦 NuGet: DbSignal.SqlServer / DbSignal.Sqlite

If you've ever had to tell users to “just refresh,” this might be useful.

DEV Community: rahib khan