Re: Starting with VB2005 and SQL Server 2008 Express Edition
- From: "Ralph" <nt_consulting64@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:32:20 -0500
"NZSchoolTech" <nzschooltech@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23WlVhP9wJHA.3676@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks for the intro and filling out many obvious questions and pointsthat
I am unaware of.locking
Obviously there are the questions of front ends and back ends. Firstly the
back end.
I had presumed at this point that MS is taking on the free client-server
database market with SQL Server Express, and it would seem they are not. I
also have a choice of back ends apart from anything MS produces, the free
one I am looking at and have some experience of is Postgresql which has an
ODBC driver available.
The reason for looking at the backend on a proper client server is
reasonably obvious, and that is that we want to be able to get around
Access's problems with multiple users, it tends to handle multi user
poorly, also to avoid file corruption which always tends to be a problemother
with most file based systems.
As for the front end, MS Access cannot handle locking properly for any
DBMS than itself, which seems to be a real limitation. This is why I amthat
looking into using VB as a front end.
It's been apparent to me for years and years and years of using Access
MS have basically built it as a stripped down version of VB, and many ofits
limitations are built in intentionally to get people to scale up to VB ifso
they need more functionality. Obviously going in VB is more work. We have
Access volume licensed across our site (this is an in house application)
the licensing cost is not an issue.
So if you can address those points further that would help me to get
somewhere closer to the answer that I need.
Obviously SQL Server Express as a free DBMS is a great idea but it won't
address our particular requirements.
Yes. Programmers/developers tend to always fall in love with the latest 'n
greatest shiny object so expect to find glowing reports about SQL Server
Express compared with Jet or ACE formatted databases. And there are some
advantages - but over-all it will not be an "upgrade" in providing an
enterprise-shared database.
[This is a poor media for adequately addressing a such broad subjects as
choosing a development platform, choosing a database server, or even
designing a distributed application, let alone trying to address ALL of them
at the same time. I can only provide a few hints, opinions, and tips to get
you started. You have your work cut-out for you. Expect to do a lot of
browsing, reading and a lot of posting between now and when you get started.
<g>]
As for an enterprise database. It depends on how many people are involved,
i.e., the size of the "enterprise". Whether this store is only
'departmental' or truly planned to become enterprise-wide.
I have only used two "free" or open-source database servers. PostgreSQL and
MySQL. I have found the only real difference between them is MySQL is
some-what more ready to go "out-of-the-box". You will find that opinion is
not universal. There are articles written on how one engine is faster than
the other, or how one implements triggers better than the other, etc. But in
the long run you will find these items are nothing more than the trade-offs
you will find with any tool or with programming in general.
However, "Free" database servers are only free in the sense of initial cost
and licensing, but you will more than make up the difference in labor costs
to get up to speed and in the management of these databases. The obvious
test is to just go to a bookstore - count the number of titles for
PostgreSQL, MySQL, Oracle, and SQL Server. Up to a certain size the "free"
databases are a just-as-good-as replacement for commercial databases - but
expect to become your own "expert", DBA, first-line support staff and
trainer. Expect to spend a lot of time puzzling out nuances and performing a
lot of trial 'n error. The dollars you don't spend upfront will be spent
later. Total cost of ownership for a database of any consequence will be the
same. For a small company is usually worth the difference, for a large
company it seldom is.
You mentioned "locking". This is one of those words that automatically sets
off warning bells in the head of an old designer like me. You then went on
to say some locking mechanisms are "poorer" than others. At this point
sirens start to go off. <lol>
Generally when somebody starts talking about "locking" they are really
talking about concurrency and transaction management. These are all
controlled by the database design and application-level services. No
database server in the world guarantees concurrency - they are masters at
providing data integrity, but that's where it stops. With the proper
application design, you can manage concurrency whether the store is xBase or
TerraData. Note that modern RDBMS do offer specialized engine "addons" to
make it easier to implement particular strategies.
But never the less, when you do migrate expect to spend a ton of time at the
whiteboard working out transaction management strategies, database design,
and adapting the nuances of the server to support multi-users. ie, don't
expect any one RDBMS to automatically solve your multi-user issues just
because you are using it - you still have to create the rules.
Whew!
I'll address the choice of a development platform in another post.
-ralph
.
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- Starting with VB2005 and SQL Server 2008 Express Edition
- From: NZSchoolTech
- Re: Starting with VB2005 and SQL Server 2008 Express Edition
- From: Ralph
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