System, method and computer program product for deploying an update between environments of a multi-tenant on-demand database system

1. A computer program product embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions adapted to be executed by a computer to implement operations comprising:

changing, by a system having one or more application servers, a portion of a first instance of an application included in a first environment of the system to include an update;

in response to changing the portion of the first instance of the application, storing, within a data structure of a second environment of the system, an indication that the update is to be deployed to update a corresponding portion of a second instance of the application at the second environment; and

subsequent to storing the indication within the data structure of the second environment, deploying, by the system, the update to the second environment of the system to include the update in the second instance of the application, wherein deploying the update includes updating the corresponding portion of the second instance of the application without updating an entirety of the second instance of the application.

2. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein storing the indication within the data structure of the second environment comprises inserting a row in a table of the second environment.

3. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the portion of the first instance of the application includes at least one of user interface code, application logic, or a data model.

4. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the first environment includes a sandbox environment utilized for testing of the update.

5. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the second environment includes a production environment at which the second instance of the application is available for use by at least one user of the system.

6. The computer program product of claim 1 , wherein the first environment is specific to a user of the system by the system customizing the first environment for the user and implementing the first environment by the system for sole use by the user.

7. The computer program product of claim 6 , wherein the second environment is associated with a different user.

8. A method, comprising:

detecting, by a system having one or more application servers, an indication stored within a row in a table of a second environment of the system, wherein the indication is indicative of an update corresponding to a portion of a first instance of an application included in a first environment of the system, and wherein the indication is further indicative that the update is to be applied to a corresponding portion of a second instance of the application included in the second environment; and

subsequent to detecting the indication within the row of the table of the second environment, deploying, by the system, the update to the second environment of the system to include the update in the second instance of the application, wherein deploying the update includes updating the corresponding portion of the second instance of the application without updating an entirety of the second instance of the application.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the system is an on-demand, multi-tenant database system.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first environment includes a sandbox environment utilized for testing of the update.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the second environment includes a production environment at which the second instance of the application is available for use by at least one user of the system.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the first environment is specific to a user of the system by the system customizing the first environment for the user and implementing the first environment by the system for sole use by the user.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the second environment is associated with a different user.

14. A system, comprising:

one or more application servers each comprising a processor and a memory that stores instructions executable by the processor;

wherein instructions stored by at least one of the one or more application servers are executable to implement operations comprising:

changing a portion of a first instance of an application included in a first environment of the system to include an update;

in response to changing the portion of the first instance of the application, storing, within a data structure of a second environment of the system, an indication that the update is to be deployed to update a corresponding portion of a second instance of the application at the second environment; and

subsequent to storing the indication within the data structure of the second environment, deploying the update to the second environment of the system to include the update in the second instance of the application, wherein deploying the update includes updating the corresponding portion of the second instance of the application without updating an entirety of the second instance of the application.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein storing the indication within the data structure of the second environment comprises inserting a row in a table of the second environment.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the system is an on-demand, multi-tenant database system.

17. The system of claim 14 , wherein the first environment includes a sandbox environment utilized for testing of the update.

18. The system of claim 14 , wherein the second environment includes a production environment at which the second instance of the application is available for use by at least one user of the system.

19. The system of claim 14 , wherein the first environment is specific to a user of the system by the system customizing the first environment for the user and implementing the first environment by the system for sole use by the user.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the second environment is associated with a different user.