Re: Where do I start?

> I guess my real question is where is the best place to start learning
> the foundations of databases. Should I learn C, C++? What
> tools/skills do I need to be a excellent database programmer?

This sounds like something I would have posted about 6 years ago! I went and did a software engineering degree, and it set me up pretty well. Probably most useful for showing me all the doors I could walk through, rather than leading me through them!

If you can't commit to a degree course, then you might want to see if you can get some night classes or something. It sounds like you're interested in many things, not just databases. Perhaps try a basic relational database course at your local uni, along with a programming language like Java. Once you get there, the lecturers should be able to help you find other courses that will help you along the way. Software engineering is a facinating subject, with many areas.

A final thought option is to learn from home, by reading books and 'playing' alot. I wouldn't recommend this alone, although it ultimately helps a great deal in conjuntion with other activities. You can't beat a good mentor!

Once you've gained some proficiency, find a junior role and learn from others - that's a great way of getting your skills homed!

To answer your question more directly...

>I guess my real question is where is the best place to start learning
>the foundations of databases. Should I learn C, C++? What
>tools/skills do I need to be a excellent database programmer?

If your doing it as part of a course, C and C++ can be good for learning with since they're not easy and require understanding of some advanced concepts such as pointers and memory management. I wouldn't reccommend them as a starting language for building web solutions, since there are other languages that are a little easier to grasp, such as Java, JavaScrip/tASP etc.

If you want to learn about databases your really gonna have to learn about relational theory. This will help you design databases well. It's then a matter of finding out how to build your design on a given tool (or database engine such as Access, Oracle, MySQL etc).

> I am open to suggested classes, books, databases, programming
> languages and whatever else would help me.

Code Complete by Steve McConnel is a great book about programming, relavent to all kinds.

Good Luck,

Tobin

> MAny Thanks,
>
> Chad
Received on Mon Jul 29 2002 - 02:08:43 CEST