Newbie - What does SQL do?

[Stevehewitt]

Hey everyone,

I'm a complete newbie to SQL but know my stuff about Win2k and I am a beginner on Access.
I have been asked to design a stock system on Access for the company that I work for. That is underway and almost complete.
What I would like to know is what is SQL server? Something related to access? Its sounds pretty cool and exciting and I want to get to grips with it. I already have it (Got MS Small Business Server) but haven't played with it or anything.

Thanks ppl!
Steve Hewitt
Systems Manager

Windows 2000 Microsoft Certified Professional (75 - 215)

http://welcome.to/stevehewitt

 

[toekneel]

SQL Server 2000 is the back end for a database system. In Access, that would be the tables and the queries. You would still need to use another application to create your forms, and Access works well for that. SQL Server is a much more robust tool. MS Access gets to having problems as it gets more records, and if you ever hit the 2 gb size it will shut down.

I've been working with Access for a long time now, and am involved in bringing an Access *.mdb file into SQL Server. I'd always heard it was easy and not difficult, but I've found it far more complex than I had expected. For starters, the queries (which get imported into SQL Server from Access) come in the one SQL format, but SQL Server uses TSQL, which has some variations. It's taken a lot of time to review queries and clean them up. You also need to rework the way your action queries in Access run, which takes time and is difficult to slug through.

In the long run it will be better for me to create this specific application in SQL Server, but the learning curve is difficult and frustrating at times. Tek-tips has helped with some items, Microsoft reps with others. I have two books on order right now that hopefully will help:

"From Access to SQL Server"

http://www.springer-ny.com/detail.tpl?cart=1011126563180510&isbn=1893115240

"Access 2000 Developer Handbook Volume 2 - Enterprise Edition" (Another programmer at my company recommended this for migration into SQL Server)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/s...arch-done=1&store-name=pc/102-3314230-3149758

 

[BeckahC]

In SQL Server you can program and manage large databases. To learn more about SQL I would suggest taking a class or a few. You would need to learn the Trans-act SQL language and should have some knowledge of general programming. SQL Server, unlike Access is not used (as far as I know) as a "front end" program. In other words, you would have to have your front end, the actual application that draws information from, inserts information into, and in any way manipulates data for display in another program or such - such as ASP, Access, etc.

For instance, I used to manage an pretty big Access Database. It had multiple users and was a very high volume of transactions and usage. After a while, we were compacting the database every night, then 2 times a day - then we switched the database over to SQL Server 7.0 with an ASP front end that runs on our Intranet. Bingo, all is now well, with plenty of room to grow and change!

There are some websites such as

http://www.sqlclass.com

that can help you learn. I went to the Learning Tree for classes, then sat with experienced programmers until I truely caught on - I still go to them with questions and problems sometimes...

Good luck, and if you have any other questions, please ask! BeckahC

 

[Stevehewitt]

Thanks.

So far the database is only 2mb big; but that is only have the querys/forms and NO data so far, and the stock system is pretty big. I guess the total size of the database when it is in full use will be about 10mb. That may not be huge, but I will also be having multiple users on it regularly.
Can you see any need for SQL server, bearing in mind that we already have a copy?

Many thanks ppl. Steve Hewitt
Systems Manager

Windows 2000 Microsoft Certified Professional (75 - 215)

http://welcome.to/stevehewitt

 

[BeckahC]

The database I was talking about is a bit over 20 mb in SQL, with a nearly 4 mb transaction log right now. That is considered small for SQL, but if you know that your DB is going to grow and have a lot of traffic on it, you may want to do some research into SQL server. It can be expensive, but in most cases it does seem to be worth it. We waited until the last possible moment to switch over (not my choice!) and it was not a pretty transition! BeckahC

 

[SQLBill]

SQL Server is pretty easy to DBA (at least so far for me). I'm a newbie to this, I was originally hired to dba an Oracle database that never got off the ground. I've been to the MS Administering a SQL Server 2000 database class and it was EXTREMELY helpful. But I was already doing basic admin stuff prior to the class. I've been getting alot of help from this forum and from the BOL. I started with a WinNT machine with four 9-Gig harddrives set up as Raid 5. The database was getting 500 MB a day. Now I have a cluster, with 14 63-gig harddrives as a raid 10. I love it...SQL makes administering the database SO simple. If it wasn't so easy, I'd be scared because the person who designed and ordered the system didn't buy anything to use as a test bed. Everything I do is on the production system. I'm currently working on developing my own test bed.

So, my point in this long-winded comment is - MS SQL Server is easy to administer and use. Since you aren't sure how much data you will have, why not go to something that is robust, and easy to use, now instead of later?

 

[BeckahC]

I would have to agree with SQLBill...

It's much wiser (IMHO) to look to the future and plan ahead. It's much easier to start with a SQL database than it is to bring it over later. BeckahC