Re: Newbie: What is SQL, Oracle, Access, Powerbuilder?

Your message includes several questions, only a few of which I can even hope to answer, but here goes. Please understand that I'm not an expert on some of the platforms you list, I'm just giving what a high-level view of what information I have.

In article <36460F35.F0C320A9_at_ait.acl.ca>,   Guy Doucet <gdoucet_at_ait.acl.ca> wrote:
> I understand that SQL, Oracle, Access and Powerbuilder are database
> tools.
>

SQL stands for Structure Query Language. It is a standard upon which other databases build. Since in your message you refer to VB5 I'll use that as an example. Visual Basic is a high level language based on ANSI standard BASIC language. Visual Basic starts with a core of BASIC code and adds functionality to that core. Most of the other popular database languages use SQL as their core and add functionality to that core. Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase SQL Server, Access, DB2 and hosts of others are databases that expand on that standard SQL core.

> 1 - Are they the only popular ones that most need to know about?
>

Don't worry so much about which database you will be exposed to. Concentrate instead on a thorough knowledge of standard SQL. If you become comfortable with standard SQL, then working with a particular database language becomes a matter of learning their additional functionality and syntax.

> 2 - I believe SQL and Access are Microsoft products, what are Oracle and
> Powerbuilder?
>

As I explained above, SQL is not owned by anyone, but is instead a standard upon which others build. Microsoft owns products called SQL Server and Access. Oracle is a database language which is produced by a company of the same name. Powerbuilder is actually not a database language, but an application development platform much like Visual Basic. Powerbuilder is produced by a company called Sybase which also sells database languages like Sysbase SQL Server (Sybase created it and licensed a version to Microsoft) and a small scale database engine called SQL Anywhere.

> 3 - Without being biased, what is the most popular, simplest, and most
> powerful?
>

It is almost impossible to be unbiased in this area. The main reason for this is that not many developers develop on more than one development on a regular basis. I personally like Powerbuilder, but I have friends that have programmed on Visual Basic and prefer that platform.

> 4 - If I'm creating a VB5 app, what do I need to load to use one of
> those database? I believe Access databases are already recognized by VB.
>

You would need to buy a copy of the database on which you want to develop or if you are developing for a client who already owns the database, you need an ODBC or native driver for that database. ODBC and native drivers are just methods an application has for communicating with a database. You should be able to find explanations for these drivers in your VB documentation. I'm not sure if Microsoft sells ODBC drivers for all the popular databases, but there are companies on the Internet that sell ODBC drivers for ANYTHING, for a price.

> 5 - I was thinking of buying a book to clear a lot of those questions,
> but then it talks about servers like SQL server and ORACLE server.
> Access is not a server, it is an application like excel or Word (or so I
> thought). What makes SQL a server and what makes that different from
> Access?
>

A server database is one which runs on a machine which has been dedicated, at least partially, to running the database. In the case of Access or Sybase's SQL Anywhere, the database and database engine (software which "runs" the database) can actually reside on the same machine that executes the application. In the case of Oracle, Microsoft or Sybase's SQL Server, or IBM's DB2, the database resides on a database server. The application connects to the database server via a call from the ODBC driver or native driver on the application machine. So, if the application uses a server database, the application and the database will live on different machines (most of the time).

> Thanks for any and all replies.
> Guy Doucet
>
>

-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==---------- http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own Received on Mon Nov 09 1998 - 08:31:20 CST