[Author Prev][Author Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Author Index][Thread Index]

Re: [school-discuss] Curriculum development : Databses



There's Mimer SQL and Firebird, too, which are both very mature and
professional. 

El jue, 02-09-2004 a las 18:07, Khawar Nehal escribió:
> I think the following is useful for curriculum development and can be 
> considered.
> 
> We need to teach the following Databases for the following reasons.
> 
> MySQL : Simple started database
> 
> PostgreSQL : Full featured Open Source Zero cost licence 
> 
> Oracle : Most popular in Pakistan 
> 
> IBM DB/2 : Popular in real life installations where governments and IBM is 
> involved.
> 
> Jet Max DB : Upcoming database supported by SAP (a pumped up turbo charged 
> version of MySQL) which is designed to replace all others like Oracle, MSSQL, 
> DB/2 and whatever else as the platform of choice for SAP.
> May be essential 1 to 2 years from now.
> 
> Databases to reduce teaching : 
> Sybase/MS-SQL : Getting outdated and replaced by Oracle and Postgres.
> 
> MS Access : Too complex and not to be considered as a starter database for new 
> students.
> To make life easier try PostgreSQL with Pgaccess.
> 
> Please send comments.
> 
> 
> ----------  Forwarded Message  ----------
> 
> Subject: 
> Date: Wednesday 01 Sep 2004 08:25
> From: Rajesh Kumar <rajesh@meetrajesh.com>
> To: undisclosed-recipients: ;
> 
> Gecko/20040820 Debian/1.7.2-4
> X-Accept-Language: en
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> To: schoolforge-discuss@schoolforge.net
> Subject: Re: [school-discuss] MySQL in classroom
> In-Reply-To: <4127888E.2000607@cs1.mcm.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
> X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it
> with any abuse report
> X-AntiAbuse: Primary Hostname - host32.ipowerweb.com
> X-AntiAbuse: Original Domain - schoolforge.net
> X-AntiAbuse: Originator/Caller UID/GID - [0 0] / [47 12]
> X-AntiAbuse: Sender Address Domain - meetrajesh.com
> Sender: owner-schoolforge-discuss@schoolforge.net
> Precedence: list
> Reply-To: schoolforge-discuss@schoolforge.net
> X-To-Get-Off-This-List: mail majordomo@schoolforge.net, body unsubscribe
>  schoolforge-discuss
> 
> Dr. Robert G. Rittenhouse once wrote:
> > A bit offtopic and at the risk of starting a flamewar I wouldn't really
> > recommend MySQL for this role. Prefer to work with a more standard SQL
> > compliant and more capable DBMS such as SAP DB/MaxDB or perhaps
> > PostgresSQL.
> 
> I respect your informed opinion, but here is what a MySQL user for 18
> months has to say:
> 
> If you're going to be teaching a bunch of high school students database
> basics (note I said "basics"), just close your eyes and go for MySQL.
> Don't bother about the licenses, don't bother about complexity and lack
> of features. And most important of all, don't listen to any
> "professional" or adult advice as they always tend to under-estimate the
> capability of a high school student. Mark me, I am myself a high-school
> student and a self-taught MySQL administrator, having learned everything
> by only reading the MySQL manual.
> 
> Are you going to be beginning day 1 with stored procedures and triggers?
> No! It wouldn't even make sense to explain stored procedures, triggers
> and UDF's after a year. And don't worry about MySQL deviating from the
> ANSI standard, because there is a specific purpose for each of these
> deviations. And most of the time, it's just increased comfort and usability.
> 
> Believe me, if people get used to MySQL, it isn't necessarily hard to
> switch to another database, as some would have you believe. I have been
> using MySQL for a long time, and when I tried to switch to PostGreSQL, I
> was able to do so without too much effort (I'm a fairly talented
> documentation reader, so I don't make a good example).
> 
> MySQL is very easy and doesn't overwhelm the user, and has pretty a
> comprehensive documentation. Want quick info. about ALTER? Try
> mysql.com/alter.
> 
> Nothing could be any more funny as this:
> 
> Q. What database do you recommend for first-time database users?
> A. MySQL
> Someone else: But MySQL doesn't implement transactions well! It doesn't
> do stored procedures the way it should. Its C code is not optimized well
> enough! It doesn't have Foreign key support! And it hangs when bombarded
> with 30 million records! And it does not support DB files spread across
> multiple file systems, and it doesn't implement....
> 
> Relax, we're talking about kids who don't even know the syntax for a
> SELECT! What good are triggers and procedures going to do for them? And
> you hardly are going to load in 100 rows of data.
> 
> Believe me, after about year, students will automatically find MySQL
> insufficient for their needs, and they will automatically move towards
> other feature-filled databases. Till then, as a high-school student
> myself, if you're teaching SQL to a set of first-timers, go for MySQL.
> Don't even think of PostGreSQL (although PostGreSQL is better than MySQL
> in some ways) Trust me, if you go for high-end databases at the start,
> that would just serve to overwhelm your students and chances are that
> they would simply reject the idea of learning anything at all about
> databases. And once they are at that stage, it is very hard to make them
> accept databases ever again.
> 
> Don't even go for MaxDB. Again, if students find MySQL incapable, they
> will automatically, by a very natural process, switch to other capable
> solution. But if you try to force this natural process, then be assured
> your very noble endeavors will go wasted. And I sincerely would love to
> see some high-school students learn MySQL, at a time when most students,
> when asked about databases in general, go "what?!?  Whatssa dutabase? Is
> it that telephone directory which lists all names in alphabetical
> order?" And rest of the gang think Microsoft Access is the end of
> database technology in our world. Mind me, I'm speaking from experience
> and am saying exactly what people have said to me in the past.
> 
> Go MySQL, I tell you. I congratulate you for helping students learn
> databases! It truly is a noble service.
> 
> 
> 
> --
> [ Rajesh Kumar ]
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------