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I work in IT, and database migration is something common in my field. I want to know how to say it. I have checked on google translate and it tells me:

Datenbank-Migration

or

Datenbankmigration

I have asked to some Austrians, but unfortunately they not work in IT, and they have told me they are not sure.

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    Was lässt Dich denken die Vorschläge von Google-Translate seien falsch?
    – user unknown
    Commented Aug 29, 2017 at 18:39
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    Wenn Du nicht wissen willst, wie man sagt, sondern wie man es schreibt, solltest Du entsprechend fragen.
    – user unknown
    Commented Aug 29, 2017 at 18:41

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This is not a question of working in IT or not. It is rather a question of style and good practice in (print) publishing or typesetting.

From a professional typesetting perspective (= How would this be set in a good book?) Datenbankmigration seems preferable because it supports fluent reading (no artificial stops inside the word).

However, Datenbank-Migration is a possible spelling, too.

Which to prefer - this depends on considerations such as is the audience accustomed to the word (then Datenbankmigration); an audience not familiar with the word may find Datenbankmigration a little bit difficult to read, and for such an audience it may be appropriate to put the hyphen in-between.

The scientific background is that reading with human eyes and brains is not like adding one letter to another (as a computer would) until something meaningful appears, but rather recognizing entire patterns at once such as a word or a cluster of words up to an entire line. Recognizing a pattern at once is like recognizing faces.[1] For this type of reading Datenbankmigration is not a difficult mess of letters but a clear pattern that will be recognized instantly. But of course the reader must have the pattern stored in his brain in order to be able to recognize it.

For first-time readers, on the other hand, Datenbank-Migration will be more easy to de-cypher. (Requiring, of course, that at least the patterns Datenbank and Migration are available in the storage.)

Of course, most texts mentioning Datenbankmigration are written for people who know what that is, so Datenbankmigration will probably be more frequently met out there in the wild; or should be.

You could also say

Datenbankumzug

Datenbank-Umzug

Umzug der Datenbank

However, most IT people stick to their beloved English terminology, therefore Datenbankumzug (and derivatives) is rare.

[1] Think of type face here.

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  • It is a question of IT since there may be a special term for this. Datenbank(-)Migration war ja nur das, was der OP bei seiner Suche bereits gefunden hatte.
    – Robert
    Commented Aug 29, 2017 at 17:09
  • @Christian Geiselmann which one will be more appropriated for CV?
    – Jefferson
    Commented Aug 29, 2017 at 17:16
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    @Jeff. I would prefer Datenbankmigration because people reading the CV will probably be used to the word. And even if not - no problem anyway. But if you prefer Datenbank-Migration nobody will complain, either.
    – Christian Geiselmann
    Commented Aug 29, 2017 at 17:59
  • @Robert - Ich habe ein paar Jahre lang ein Datenbankprojekt geleitet. Mir ist nicht aufgefallen, dass zwischen Datenbankmigration und Datenbank-Migration eine Unterscheidung getroffen würde à la "So sagt's der Fachmann und so nicht".
    – Christian Geiselmann
    Commented Aug 29, 2017 at 18:03
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    @UserUnknown - Ja, wenn man pingelig wäre, müsste es "So schreibt's der Fachmann" heißen. Aber andererseits: Der Ausdruck ist ohnehin ein praktisch gänzlich mündlicher, und in legerer mündlicher Sprache sagt man praktisch nie "schreibt". Ach, übrigens: es heißt ja auch "es heißt", obwohl jemanden heißen ja zunächst eine mündliche, keine schriftliche Tätigkeit ist. Vielleicht kann sagen dann auch gelegentlich eine schriftliche Tätigkeit heißen?
    – Christian Geiselmann
    Commented Aug 30, 2017 at 8:56
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Both should be correct.

A good read on when to use the hyphen: http://www.duden.de/sprachwissen/rechtschreibregeln/bindestrich

Man kann einen Bindestrich in unübersichtlichen Zusammensetzungen setzen <§ 45 (2)>.

Mehrzweck-Küchenmaschine

Lotto-Annahmestelle

Umsatzsteuer-Tabelle

Nonetheless, you can find plenty of german literature (including literature from universities) using the word "Datenbankmigration" as one word, if you look it up on google.

Edit:

I assumed, you understand german. Should that not be the case;

You may use a hyphen for confusing compositions of words.

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  • I speak little german, you told me both should be correct, which one will be better for a CV?
    – Jefferson
    Commented Aug 29, 2017 at 17:18
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    I would personally use "Datenbankmigration", but that's just my preference. The term itself is perfectly correct and commonly used in IT.
    – rqnn
    Commented Aug 29, 2017 at 17:22

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