Anyone know a good Database site?

[Tristan Gray]

As in a place sort of similar to this one where people give hints and help each other out with their database questions/concerns? I'm working on a new web-interface and database system and it's proving pretty frustrating. Be nice to have some others to bounce my ideas off of.

Any useful links would be appreciated,
Thanks.

[whackaxe]

I stumbled upon this one day
http://www.databasejournal.com/
its run by internet.com mind you.

[SpirtOfGrandeur]

Go take a college class on it. The class will teach you correctness in databasing and will help you plan for the future. I have not seen this done on a website or book yet.

[Tristan Gray]

Heh, I already pay $20k a year on my education and I live in Canada. I've got no time/money for a college class that will almost certain move at a snail's pace and leave me realistically unequipped for real application. I know there are no good programs in my area.

I have the basics down, I mean I've successfully installed everything and have it all running. Just I need to better my knowledge of SQL, ODBC, PHP, etc. I'm sure there must be books on this topic that are useful. All I have learned thusfar has been through online reading.

[jon.php]

ummm... how do you know it moves at slow as snail pace if your not good at it? A person who didn't know how to play guitar said he quit his lessons cuz he teacher wasn't teaching fast enuff, yet when i heard him play he sucked...

[SpirtOfGrandeur]

I am just giving you a suggestion. I am just saying that IT classes can teach you how to set up and run a database, and that is what all the books are based on. A computer science course in databases will teach you the theory behind databases. It will teach you things such as normalization which no guy taking an IT database course cares about, yet if you incorporate it in to your database plan, the database is more likely to run faster and grow with the needs of the system.

I am giving you this advice based on my personal experiences. I have taken multiple IT database courses, and CS database courses (up to 600 level). I have read many books on the subject and most of them are all on the IT side of databases. If you really want to get to know databases then take a CS College course.

As an FYI I could only wish that the project that I am currently working on was started by a CS guy instead of an IT guy. The database structure is horrible to say the least!

[Tristan Gray]

Yeah, I was in computer science for a while, but then I decided I couldn't stand working on computers for the rest of my life. And yet, here I am despite my best efforts. I was more speaking of IT courses, CS courses can get really fun and even philosophical because the theory of the mathematics that get involved become more akin to philosophy than science. Many mathematics profs consider themselves far more related to the philosophy departments and with good reason, but that is my anti-science rhetoric that I will spare you for now. Thanks, I have too many things to learn and too little time/motivation and far too many excuses.

As for the guitar analogy, let's take it a step farther shall we? Say that the ultimate irony is that you are yourself ignorant of the ways of the guitar. And so your judgement that his playing was bad was simply based on some silly lack of criteria on your part. Thereby making the point you were trying to make swing right back into your face. But anyway, my real point is that analogies are slippery fish and ought to be used with caution. Perhaps he sucked and that is why he quit, his teacher had not helped him to not suck. Of course that may not be the teacher's fault.

You see, IT courses are much like science courses, they are the applicable information although limited that permits you to get a job and make money for the weekend. CS is like mathematics in that it is for those who are interested not only in using the formulas as a sort of tool but rather understanding them and where they came from (or rather trying as is often the case). It comes down to a matter of perspective, there are those who view knowledge as simply a means to an end, and there are those who see knowledge as something valuable in itself. It is true that often those who view knowledge as a tool are the most prodigious and maybe even the quickest at using it, but they are rarely innovative and rely completely on the work of others.

A little bit of a five minute rant for fun on the psychology behind educational classes. heh. Someone guess what I am? (and don't say loser.)