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

Guy Doucet wrote:
>
> I understand that SQL, Oracle, Access and Powerbuilder are database
> tools.
>
> 1 - Are they the only popular ones that most need to know about?
Yeah, learn them all - I'd be impressed with that. Maybe it would be better to pick one back-end and one front-end type product and concentrate on that. Most of the stuff you learn will be readily portable to the others.

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

Ugh! I think SQLServer may be a microsoft product, but don't ever claim that thy created SQL.

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

Without being biased, Oracle :-). Most popular possibly Access due to the huge number of pirate copies; simplest dBase III+, most powerful Oracle.
My most important criteria is scalability (where is MsAccess for IBM 3090E or AIX or HP-UX).

>
> 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.
Access is fine for creating a PC app. I beleive the same VB code (maybe minor mods) can be used to talk to any database that there is an ODBC driver for - that would be all of them.

>
> 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?

Access under Windows is sort of a server. From what I remember, Access itself uset the JetDB engine which VB can also access.

AC. Received on Thu Nov 12 1998 - 15:59:20 CST