SQL pros and cons

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jrough
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SQL pros and cons

Post by jrough »

I'm looking into the pros and cons of SQL. I have heard that support of datasources is expensive. What does this mean support the datasource? Does that mean developing the user interface for the data tables? I dont' get the lingo.

Then someone told me the reverse so I don't know which is true because I was also told that if
it's developed properly in the first place it should need virtually no administration at all, and administration via phpMyAdmin is easy. So if the company uses a database hosting service it has to offer PHPAdmin? Is this something you suggest for users to do their own admin? I am talking about budget minded clients.
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Weirdan
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Re: SQL pros and cons

Post by Weirdan »

jrough wrote:I'm looking into the pros and cons of SQL. I have heard that support of datasources is expensive. What does this mean support the datasource? Does that mean developing the user interface for the data tables? I dont' get the lingo.
I don't either.
jrough wrote: Then someone told me the reverse so I don't know which is true because I was also told that if
it's developed properly in the first place it should need virtually no administration at all, and administration via phpMyAdmin is easy. So if the company uses a database hosting service it has to offer PHPAdmin? Is this something you suggest for users to do their own admin? I am talking about budget minded clients.
Properly designed database needs no structure changes if requirements remains the same. It doesn't mean db does not need any administration, as backups and optimization sometimes are still required.
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patrikG
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Post by patrikG »

SQL - is a more or less generic term meaning "Structure Query Language". There are many different flavours, MySQL, MSSQL, PL/SQL etc. If you run a database, you can't avoid SQL. The different flavours differ in functionality and license.

"Support of the datasource" - never heard that. Database administration is not something you can neglect, tables need optimisation, backing up etc. etc. They are the core of your web-application. If they break or get corrupted you can easily face total disaster.
Yes, you can automate these maintenance tasks, but if you have no clue about databases: don't until you know what you're doing.

Regarding phpMyAdmin: it only works for MySQL - there are similar, but not quite as powerful open-source tools available for Oracle and others. They simply offer a GUI (graphical user interface) for SQL-commands, which you, originally, could only enter via the command-line.
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feyd
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Post by feyd »

In my experience, it's best for most clients to never touch the database directly (through phpMyAdmin) .. they could easily and royally honk stuff up. I have seperate contracts for maintanence of sites, versus design and development. In either case, I try to build a CMS system (using classes or whatever I've already built), or use an existing one (if absolutely required). I try to avoid doing maintanence though.. it's just a pain, most of the time.
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