[X Newbies] Regarding Database software

[Vincent Cayenne]

On 7/30/03 9:10 AM, "Vincent Cayenne" <vcayenne at mac.com> wrote:

>  I guess what I meant by unix-like was 'free and yet more powerful'...
>
>  Complete MySQL may be of interest:
>  <http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/10609>

At 5:33 PM -0400 8/2/03, T. Patrick Henebry wrote:
>
>Ye gods...talk about swatting a fly with a sledgehammer! MNot to 
>mention the need to know how to write SQL
>queries order to use it.

Your hyperbole notwithstanding, the man said 'free and yet more powerful'.

>MySQL is for high-end corporate work.

Poor MySQL, so many of my DBA and developer colleagues doing 
"high-end corporate work" keep saying that it's for hobbyists and go 
on to recommend $50K+ Oracle, DB2 and Informix solutions.

>Not to mention the need to know how to write SQL queries order to use it.

Three words - insert, update, delete? Really, SQL is probably the 
only thing that's simpler than AppleScript. Once the database 
instance is up, that is. Complete MySQL takes care of all the 
esoteric installation and configuration, leaving the database design 
and actual usage for KL. He sounded as though he was ready to take 
the step up that MySQL represents. Perhaps you have some more 
pertinent information than was apparent to me from his post. If so, I 
apologise for my presumption.

Disclosure/rant: I'm an Oracle developer and admin, and (seldom now) 
also an Informix developer and admin. That said, I wouldn't wish 
high-end database development on any but my worst enemy. I really 
admire efforts such as FileMaker which bring storage, manipulation 
and retrieval of data to real people. It really shouldn't be as hard 
as it is (w.r.t. interface) just to massage some info. What I'd 
really like to see is an iApp for this. As much as we "purists" 
disparage the ineptness of FileMaker, MS-Access and all the flat file 
managers out there, the fact is that the average joe could care less 
of the elegance of 4D, Cobb's rules or MySQL's support for 
transactions. And the average joe does have use for the tools, just 
not current implementations. Database Management is one of those 
areas that still is the playground of the elite. As with 3D 
modelling, publishing and videography, the role of the trained 
professional remains undiminished but there is a place for polished, 
user-friendly database tools "for the rest of us" analogous to the 
role played by iMovie, for example.
-- 
'tis as said. [Reality is defined by being described]