Semi-OT: Database for "average" users

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Mon, May 02, 2005 at 11:29:06AM -0400, phil wrote:
> However my point is that there are trivial uses of these things that 
> don't require expert knowledge.  If word processors forced you to do 
> all the kerning by hand or some such thing then that would be a reason 
> to tell a beginner to use something else for simple jobs.  It may be 
> overkill and it may be a waste of resources, but it doesn't present a 
> massive barrier to getting started.

Trivial jobs have a tendancy to evolve into not so trivial jobs.

> I have no problem with database people getting paid.  In fact, more 
> would be better.  :-)  My "complaint" is really about a big gap in 
> technology between a word processor table (or spreadsheet) on one hand 
> and PostgreSQL on the other.  Or maybe it isn't a gap and I simply 
> don't know what's there...it's a space that things like Filemaker (and 
> maybe MS Access) seem to touch on, but for Open Source equivalents...?

A big problem is that many people who "know" how to do things in Access,
think they know how to solve all database problems know using of course,
Access.  Unfortuantely it doesn't scale, it sucks for anything more than
one person at a time should have access to, and it's SQl query builder
has many limitations (well it did when I used it many years ago, which
resulted in me "learning" SQL and doing it myself.)

Many companies are "stuck" with crap Access databases that do the job
very badly because it seemed like a simple solution at the time that was
just until they could do it right.  Unfortunately it's in use and they
never get around to doing it right later, and the staff would complain
about having to learn a new way to do it (never mind if it would be
faster and more useful).

You are generally much better off never starting to use the crappy
database wannabe's like Access in the first place.

Lennart Sorensen
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