[Gllug] Databases - NOT Linux specific

[Bruce Richardson]

On Tue, Jul 10, 2001 at 11:31:39PM +0100, Matt Bunter wrote:
> All,
> 
> Found out that I have to do some database training for the new job - going
> to be Oracle stuff and DB2. I have never ever done anything on Databases
> b4 - where do I start?

Small.

> 
> Tempted to by SQL for Dummies or Oracle 8i for Dummies, would learning mySQL
> and/or Postgres help? Sorry haven't a clue and saw the answers to the mySQL
> and PHP thread and got scared.

Hee, hee!  You're not the only one - I notice David kept very quiet
after starting it all;)

> 
> Would like to read something generic first then something else that is
> specific to Oracle.

If you really have no experience with databases then before you learn
SQL you need to learn basic concepts about relational databases:
one-to-many relationships, many-to-many relationships, primary keys,
indexes, normalisation etc.  Hmmm.  I started with dBase but I wouldn't
recommend it.

What's your desktop OS?  You'd possibly benefit from using a GUI tool to
build simple databases - and then work up.  For all it's eccentricites
under the bonnet, MS Access is actually very good as a learning tool.
I only had a brief look at StarBase - anybody else?

Postgresql and mySQL both have graphical front-ends, also.  Or if you're
good at visualising data/programming concepts, you could jump straight
in at the deep end and use their command-line database shells.

I'd recommend Postgresql over mySQL as preparation for Oracle - there's
a bunch of database concepts (triggers, transactions, stored procedures)
which are found in Postgresql and Oracle but not in mySQL.  In fact, the
design of Postgresql's procecure language, pl/pgsql, owes a lot to
Oracle's PL/SQL.

The Elephant book (PostgreSQL Introduction and Concepts) is a friendly
intro to PostgreSQL but not really a database/SQL primer.

-- 
Bruce

If the universe were simple enough to be understood, we would be too
simple to understand it.
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