Draft: investigate idempotent database initialization for new-db

[Copilot]

new-db is currently destructive, which makes it unsuitable for safe startup-time initialization in dynamic environments. The intended change is to provide an idempotent way to initialize schema without wiping existing database state.

• Current status

  • No repository code changes were committed in this iteration.
  • Investigation narrowed the change to the new-db command path and the database initialization flow in:
    • src/main/CommandLine.cpp
    • src/main/ApplicationUtils.cpp
    • src/main/ApplicationImpl.cpp
    • src/database/Database.cpp

• Planned implementation shape

  • Add a non-destructive initialization mode to new-db (for example, --init-only).
  • Route that mode through a separate database initialization path instead of Database::initialize(), which currently deletes SQLite database files and recreates tables.
  • Preserve existing new-db behavior when the new flag is not used.

• Key constraint identified

  • Database::initialize() is destructive by design:

    if (isSqlite())
    {
        // closes and removes existing SQLite files
    }
    
    OverlayManager::maybeDropAndCreateNew(mSession);
    PersistentState::maybeDropAndCreateNew(*this);
    LedgerHeaderUtils::maybeDropAndCreateNew(*this);

  • The idempotent path needs separate table/schema bootstrap logic that does not drop existing state.