Its my next goal, (nothing really to do with VFP) but I want to have dba at the end of my name on a business card.

Learning SQL language, and the server are both good ideas, but they really go hand in hand. Learning how to create a database in VFP without knowing how to create a form in VFP is how I would answer it.

http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/%7Eshadow/sql/sql2bnf.aug92.txt

Like I said, what server you choose, becomes a matter of your choice, or what your company wants you to learn.

If you work in a Microsoft shop, then by all means learn how to manage the MsSql server, how to maintain files, perform transaction rollbacks, backups and so on.

But as important it is to learn how the server is maintained, for you, as a vfp programmer, the importance of the different type of fields avail to any sql server, and how they can be used within the context of VFP is also important. There is not a 1 to 1 relationship between like a dates , Int, Varchar, etc. How indexes work, and how to create stored proceedures, and how to use them.

Stored proceedures are programs you write on the server, and then when when the client app, reqeusts data, the stored proceedure is called, and the data is returned according to your programming. Very powerful stuff. If someone say in an accounting department, wants the same set of information once a month, via odbc from the server, Sure they could use excell to extract all the data, and sort it on the -client side, or you could write a stored proceedure, on the server, to extract only the data they want, Then, you give them (the excell user) the name of the stored proceedure, and they run it, and get only the data that they want.

IMO, using SQl Technology, Data becomes what you work in, keeping in, sorting it, managing it. then whatever application needs it, you tell them how to get it, and is always there. No more Converting from Dbf's to xks or cvs type files, you send them a command querry like

'select * from ap.myfile where etc etc' they plug that into their applicaiton, and you are the king.

From inside VFP you can tap into sql server data as well and replace the use of dbf's if you like.

Imaging having one person using access, one using excell, and one using vfp, all communicating with the same data in same format. All reading live data.
and if they write to it, rules on the server, protect the data from writing bad values. etc.

Its a bit up front work for you, to set it up, (writing rules and permissions et) but once you dont have to extract dbf's to an accounting department. you will see the beauty of doing thing this way.

I guess the biggest reason I am on this direction, is becuase I work in a multi os, multi platform enviorment, mac's linux, pc's NT's Unix, and I have these cross platform issues to deal with all the time, The mac users want data stored in a dbf, the unix users want data on a mac and so on. moving things off each platform onto a sql server levels the field. and now matter what, cleint machine they have. they have access to each others dynamic data.

At least in theory. (it takes time) ... But I have done a few of these conversions so far. and I know it works. .. by no means am I done yet.

P.s. I started with Mysql (to learn only) , but I also work with 2 mssql servers, and I becuase our Unix main computer is running informix, it seems that Informix is what I will be using. But like I said, my skills in working one sql server, while not exact to other ones, do help. So moving between different servers. is really quite easy.

So maybe my job requirments are different than yours... but thats the direction and solution that I am working on... (maybe 5 years from now) it will be
Bob Lee DBA. (I hope)



Bob Lee



> When you mention sql, do you mean the sql language, or the server or both?
>
> I am just trying to see what it takes to become a 'database programmer.'
>
>--Ahmed