Looking for simple DBMS...

[JohnATfastad]

Good Afternoon,

I need help with a suggested product to use.

I am looking for a simple to use RDBMS that doesn't require code programming to use (object oriented). My criteria is that it will allow me to put it on my Windows 2000 2 ghz server, and perform well, and I can easily create web pages that allow record lookup, and record adding, without a lot of difficulty.

A while ago, I wrote in R-base (DOS), and for the past 5 years, I am using and love Lotus Approach, but that product does not support web developement, and it's overall following is quite limited. I have tried Filemaker Pro, but I find that product unpredictable, and parts of it require me to hard code to get what I want, but I don't have time right now to do simple functions.

I want to create a relational base consisting of of two tables, joined and sorted on a couple of columns. I am only working with a few hundred records, expanding to maximum of maybe 15,000, so it does not have to be a gigantic system either.

Suggestions would be most appreciated.

Sincerely,

John Martoccio
John@fastad.com

 

[SteveR77]

John,

I just want to be sure that I am answering the right question.

Are you looking of an OODB or an RDBMS package?

For the size of your application MS Access comes to mind, but I am not going to suggest it as a possible solution until I am certain of what type of package you are looking for.


Steve

 

[Golom]

If you search the web you will find that the OODBMS and the RDBMS worlds are somewhat at odds (i.e. one is not the other.) So ... the question is ... which do you want?

From your description it looks like something like Access would easily handle your requirement although it might not withstand the demands of a high-traffic web site.

As for "... doesn't require code programming to use ..."

I doubt that there is a zero-programming solution but there should not be very much of it to accomplish the fairly modest goals that you have set out.

 

[johnwm]

MSDE is free and plenty powerful enough for your stated requirements. It interfaces via ADO and standard SQL statements. Available here:

http://www.microsoft.com/sql/msde/downloads/download.asp

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[JohnATfastad]

Thank you all for replying so quickly. For now, I am using an Access database, and I used the Database Wizard of FrontPage 2000, to create the initial pages, which after messing around with it for a day, I have managed to create a basic set of pages to View, Add, Edit and Delete, records (each on seperare pages). It seems it does those basic functions well, but anything more complex like searches, are not within it's abilities without hard coding or other toolkits.

To answer SteveR77's question, I am looking for a OODB first, but if it happens to also work relationally, that is even better. I tried Filemaker 6, but find that I needed to understand the underlying scripting language to get it to relate correctly as a standard desktop database, not even trying to publish a web base, and work correctly.

I am trying to help out a friend with a simple contact database of Companies in one table, and Contacts in another (one-to-many), related to one-another on two columns, with the ability to do full searches. This was very difficult to do with FileMaker on more than one related column between tables.

For years I programmed in Rbase and later migrated my clients to Lotus Approach. What I am looking for is something easy to write in like Approach, that can generate ASP/Html pages for web access.

I have seen several companies building web-based (flat file) database products that allow novices to build bases from web pages. Does anything like that exist that I can install on my server ?

Any suggestions are most appreciated.

Sincerely,
John Martoccio

 

[pweegar]

Take a look at Access's help. Do a search for HTML. It explains how to create the pages you need.

 

[BobJacksonNCI]

Long ago in a warmer place when Access was in its infancy, I used Alpha 4 and found it much easier as a beginner than Access 1.1. Alpha 5, which is Alpha's Windows version, may be easier than Access XXXX, but there's always a learning curve and you've already gotten a start with Access.

In summary, you might like Alpha 5 but there'd be learning to do there, also.


HTH,
Bob