Not free. Not available on Linux. Next? On Nov 8, 2010, at 10:56 PM, "Lemington Consulting" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Microsoft Access is a very flexible database, and while it is certainly not > an enterprise class database, it can be very useful in many database > projects, as well as being a very good tool for learning SQL. Most people > see GUIs as a good thing, so the fact that Access requires a GUI to create a > database wouldn't appear to be a negative. > > Access databases are widely used as the data store for many of the countless > Visual Basic 6 applications still out there. And while Access security > limitations prevent it from being used extensively as a data store for web > applications, it can certainly fill that role where data is not proprietary. > In fact we used two Access database behind our web site for several years > with absolutely no issues. You can build .NET applications with Access > database stores if your requirements allow it. > > Access has some great features including its ability to link in data from > other ODBC data stores including SQL Server, Dbase, Paradox, Excel > worksheets, text files, Lotus Notes, QuickBooks and many more. The query > designer in Access allows you to build queries and then view the resulting > SQL that is generated making it a great SQL learning tool. While Access does > not support the full set of SQL commands, it supports the most common ones. > > http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access-help/CH010072899.aspx > > Access is widely used and thus a strong knowledge base and a large user > community exist. For someone running Windows XP SP2 (I would recommend an > upgrade to SP3), you can use anything between Access 95 to Access 2010. We > recently found some copies of older Access versions on eBay at very > reasonable prices. > > As was mentioned by someone earlier, there is also a free version of SQL > Server. I believe SQL Server 2008 R2 Express is the latest version. You can > find the download here: > > http://www.microsoft.com/express/Database/ > > > David Lloyd > Lemington Consulting > http://LemingtonIT.com > > > -----Original Message----- > From: William L. Thomson Jr. [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Monday, November 08, 2010 5:39 PM > To: Jax-LUG > Subject: Re: Learn SQL at home > > On Mon, 2010-11-08 at 17:07 -0500, Tim Holloway wrote: >> >> However, I think your information on PostgreSQL is a bit dated. > > Nope > >> PostgreSQL has been sweating the details on transactions for a LONG >> time now. Like the expensive commercial DBMS's, it supports >> transaction logging that can be used to ensure database integrity >> across backup/restore operations. > > How is that integrated with PostgerSQL backup tools? > >> http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.1/interactive/backup-online.html > > > "The log describes every change made to the database's data files. This log > exists primarily for crash-safety purposes: if the system crashes, the > database can be restored to consistency by "replaying" the log entries made > since the last checkpoint." > > That says nothing about backing up and restoring a database. A log is not the > same as a backup. Seems a log can be used to facilitate a backup, but its > different. > >> I've been doing backups, migrations, and occasional disaster-recovery >> restores on PostgreSQL for a number of years now, and unlike some >> overpriced commercial products, it has never given me an un-restorable >> backup. > > What tool did you use to restore the backup? Can you easily restore from > server A to server B across the network, directly? > >> I've been especially appreciative on that score lately, since I've >> been doing a lot with DB/2, and THEY can't even do a simple >> backup/restore across CPU architectures (i5/Linux), not even counting >> how tedious a basic database clone operation can be. > > You might be blown away with what you can do with Firebird wrt to backing up. > Its also gotten even better with nbackup, much less what gbak is already > capable of. > >> There's no shortage of good SQL DBMS options available under Linux, >> both full open-source and commercial community edition > > There actually is, and more so when you start moving toward enterprise space. > Most times even in FOSS you ask, and people will say MySQL and PostgreSQL. > Firebird won't be mentioned, nor others. > > Also when I started with Firebird, I was on Windows still. Back in the early > 2000's, trying to install PostgreSQL on windows was well, not really an > option back then. One other reason that despite PostgreSQL being on the > Cobalt, I had to use InterBase. > >> In fact, SQLite is sort of "built in" to most modern distros these >> days, since a number of system utilities use it for their own asset >> control databases (plus, of course, it's built into Android). Apache >> Derby is another way to get up and running SQL quick. > > Sure, but I do not believe SQLite is standards complaint, not really a good > starting point for learning. > >> About the only SQL DBMS I wouldn't recommend is MS-Access. Although I >> don't recommend waiting around for MS-Access For Linux[TM] in any event. > > MS-Access isn't really a true database. I am not sure what would best > describe it. Most database have no means for you to develop a GUI. But thats > part of Access. Can't really even make an access db without some sort of GUI. > There might be ways but most using Access made an interface in Access to > their Access DB. > > Along those same lines, I have had horrors in the past with Paradox and > FoxPro. Learning lessons that taught me things begin and end with your RDBMS, > its the core, choose it wisely :) > > -- > William L. Thomson Jr. > Obsidian-Studios, Inc. > http://www.obsidian-studios.com > > This message (including any attachments) contains confidential information > intended for a specific individual and purpose, and is protected by law. If > you are not the intended recipient, you should delete this message. > > Any disclosure, copying, or distribution of this message, or the taking of > any action based on it, is strictly prohibited. > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > Archive http://marc.info/?l=jaxlug-list&r=1&w=2 > RSS Feed http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml > Unsubscribe [email protected] > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > Archive http://marc.info/?l=jaxlug-list&r=1&w=2 > RSS Feed http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml > Unsubscribe [email protected] > --------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive http://marc.info/?l=jaxlug-list&r=1&w=2 RSS Feed http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml Unsubscribe [email protected]
