When working with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), both Extract and Export operations deal with Data-Tier Applications (DAC), but serve distinct purposes:

-- Export DAC operation typically generates a .bacpac file
EXPORT DATABASE AdventureWorks TO DISK = 'C:\backups\AdventureWorks.bacpac'

-- Extract DAC operation generates a .dacpac file
EXEC msdb.dbo.sp_sysdac_extract_package 
    @package_name = 'AdventureWorksPackage',
    @target_server_name = 'DEV-SQL01',
    @package_data = @output_data OUTPUT

Export (BACPAC):

• Contains both schema and data
• Used for database migration or backup
• Creates portable database snapshots

Extract (DACPAC):

• Contains only schema (no data)
• Used for version control and deployment
• Enables schema comparison and updates

When to use Export:
Migrating a database between environments while preserving all data. For example, moving a production database to a staging server.

When to use Extract:
Deploying schema changes through CI/CD pipelines. The DACPAC can be used with SqlPackage.exe:

SqlPackage.exe /Action:Publish 
    /SourceFile:"AdventureWorks.dacpac" 
    /TargetServerName:"PROD-SQL01" 
    /TargetDatabaseName:"AdventureWorks"

Export operations typically take longer due to data movement. For a 50GB database:

• Export: ~2 hours (depending on hardware)
• Extract: ~5 minutes (schema-only)

Remember that DACPAC files support incremental deployments through schema comparison, while BACPAC files represent complete database states.

DACPAC files work particularly well with source control systems. A typical workflow might look like:

# PowerShell script for CI pipeline
$dacpac = SqlPackage /Action:Extract 
    /SourceConnectionString:"Server=.;Database=AdventureWorks" 
    /TargetFile:"AdventureWorks.dacpac"

git add AdventureWorks.dacpac
git commit -m "Schema version 2.1.0"
git push origin main

When working with SQL Server Data-Tier Applications (DAC) in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), you'll encounter two similar-sounding operations:

-- Extract creates a .dacpac file
EXEC msdb.dbo.sp_export_dac 
    @database_name = 'YourDatabase',
    @package_name = 'C:\Backup\YourDatabase.dacpac'
    
-- Export creates a .bacpac file
EXEC msdb.dbo.sp_export_data_tier_application 
    @database_name = 'YourDatabase',
    @package_name = 'C:\Backup\YourDatabase.bacpac'

The fundamental distinction lies in the output file formats:

• Extract (.dacpac): Contains only schema definitions (tables, views, stored procedures) without any data
• Export (.bacpac): Includes both schema and actual data from tables

Here's when to use each operation:

Extract (DACPAC) Scenarios

-- Ideal for schema migrations
-- Version control of database structure
-- Continuous integration/deployment pipelines
-- Comparing schemas between environments

Export (BACPAC) Scenarios

-- Full database backups with data
-- Migrating to Azure SQL Database
-- Creating test environments with sample data
-- Archiving complete database snapshots

The operations use different underlying SQL Server components:

-- DACPAC uses the Data-Tier Application Framework (DacFX)
-- BACPAC uses the SQL Server Import/Export Wizard components
-- Both can be automated through PowerShell:

# Extract DACPAC
Export-DaC -ServerInstance "localhost" -Database "YourDB" -OutputPath "C:\backup\YourDB.dacpac"

# Export BACPAC
Export-BaC -ServerInstance "localhost" -Database "YourDB" -OutputPath "C:\backup\YourDB.bacpac"

Key differences in execution:

• BACPAC operations are generally slower due to data transfer
• DACPAC files are smaller and faster to generate
• Network bandwidth affects BACPAC transfers significantly
• DACPAC supports schema verification on extraction

For developers working with both operations:

-- Combining both for full migrations
-- First extract schema
Export-DaC -ServerInstance "SRC_SERVER" -Database "ProdDB" -OutputPath "schema.dacpac"

-- Then export data
Export-BaC -ServerInstance "SRC_SERVER" -Database "ProdDB" -OutputPath "data.bacpac"

-- On target server
Import-DaC -ServerInstance "TGT_SERVER" -Database "TestDB" -DacPacPath "schema.dacpac"
Import-BaC -ServerInstance "TGT_SERVER" -Database "TestDB" -BacPacPath "data.bacpac"