Databases which to use?

dazsly

dazsly

dazsly

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Hi, at the moment im using asp with microsoft jet databases via ms access, now I know this is old tech and frowned upon so can someone advise me which is the best database program which is easy to understand and use with the option to secure the data.

Thanks
 
Hi,

Another alternative would be Ingres which is now Open Source (having been bought from Computer Associates). It's a pretty heavy-duty database on a par with something like Oracle in terms of speed, data-volume capabilities etc. However, it's also pretty straightforward to set up and easy to create databases, tables etc. Also doesn't need a high-spec machine to run on (unlike Oracle I found).

Ingres comes complete with a number of pretty basic, yet straight-forward, database tools that allow you to do all the normal things such as administer the database, execute SQL etc. Nothing flash, more functional than anything else.

Backing up data can be done in a number of different ways ranging from copying a single table to a file to checkpointing the entire database.

I've connected to Ingres from a variety of environments including VB, Perl, and Java, none of which have caused any problems. This was done using ODCB, JDBC etc.

I can't say how Ingres compares to SQL Server or SQL Express but I think it's certainly worth a look (www.ingres.com).

Jim
 
JIMA said:
Hi,

Another alternative would be Ingres which is now Open Source (having been bought from Computer Associates). It's a pretty heavy-duty database on a par with something like Oracle in terms of speed, data-volume capabilities etc. However, it's also pretty straightforward to set up and easy to create databases, tables etc. Also doesn't need a high-spec machine to run on (unlike Oracle I found).

Ingres comes complete with a number of pretty basic, yet straight-forward, database tools that allow you to do all the normal things such as administer the database, execute SQL etc. Nothing flash, more functional than anything else.

Backing up data can be done in a number of different ways ranging from copying a single table to a file to checkpointing the entire database.

I've connected to Ingres from a variety of environments including VB, Perl, and Java, none of which have caused any problems. This was done using ODCB, JDBC etc.

I can't say how Ingres compares to SQL Server or SQL Express but I think it's certainly worth a look (www.ingres.com).

Jim
Click to expand...
Oracle doesn't need a high spec machine on which to run at all.
OK, so even the express edition is set up to use a lot of RAM straight from the box but if you size the SGA & PGA according to your needs it can run on a lower spec machine quite easily.
 
Thanks for the info. I need to look at my Oracle setup again I think.

The main problem I found was one with disk usage. When I installed Oracle I only had one HD which I found was constantly being accessed once Oracle was installed and thus slowing things down. Installing a second HD and creating databases etc. on this drive seemed to make a world of difference. It's probably (almost definitely) the way I set it up and I suspect it would run quite happily on one drive and a fairly low-spec machine (which I guess mine is by todays standards).
 
IF you've got Access AND (the AND is critical), it won't be used by (I think more than 10 concurrant users), AND the database size won't go beyond 2Gb, then you could always use MSDE which is essentially the power of SQL but without the frontend. Way better than Access.

Plus it's free!
 
~J~ said:
IF you've got Access AND (the AND is critical), it won't be used by (I think more than 10 concurrant users), AND the database size won't go beyond 2Gb, then you could always use MSDE which is essentially the power of SQL but without the frontend. Way better than Access.

Plus it's free!
Click to expand...

SQL 2005 Express is the new name for MSDE.

:)
 
Out of interest, how do you access it if it doesn't have the front end? Or is it *through* Access it's self?
I assume you need a hosting package which has sql sever installed?
(my package just allows asp/access).

Thanks :)
 
MS SQL Server and SQL 2005 Express both have front-ends for them.
MySQL is usually administered through phpmyadmin (browser-based admin)
 
He means that MSDE didn't have a GUI to allow the developer to interact directly with the database, it all had to be done via SQL commands from a client of some sort. After all, all a GUI does is stick a graphical interface on top of a load of SQL commands.

There were loads of freely available, non Microsoft GUIs for MSDE, such as: MSDEGUI (http://www.codeproject.com/cs/database/msde-gui.asp) etc
 
Can't say I've tried it but I would think (and hope) that the full SQL Server Management Studio can connect and administer an Express edition server.

Express edition is all we use for our customers now. It really is a great bit of kit and so much more polished than MySQL has ever been. The 2GB database limit is nothing to be worried about. As soon as any of our customers start hitting the limits we upgrade them to a licensed SQL Server. All of about 5 mouse clicks to port the database over!
 
Sounds good all in all. Seems the only advantage of Access DB is that you don't have to have sql sever express/full installed.
 
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