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Home > Archive > Certifications and IT jobs/Salaries > April 2004 > Database Certifications
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Database Certifications
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| sandberg 2004-02-25, 8:08 pm |
| I've been working in IT for about six years as a sysadmin and network admin. I really enjoy what I do but I've always liked the idea of working with databases. I hold a few certifications now namely MCP's, CCNA, and a few Comptia certs but they are all related to either networking or MS sysadmin. What I'm wondering is what others would recommend if I were to do a database cert. I realize that oracle is a widely popular database but I don't know what kind of database skills are really in demand out there. At my organization we use Oracle and MSSQL and even starting to use a little MySQL. I've read all of the info on their certs on each of the web sites but I'd like to hear some input from people out there who work with this stuff or know anything about it.
If anyone could leave there thoughts / opinions on which vendor and path to take to become either /or a certified DBA / DB Developer it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
IRC | |
| onoski 2004-02-26, 3:45 am |
| Anything SQL would be very useful in regards to DBMS which are relational database. Oracle and MySQL would be a good starting point for you as a lot of companies seem to use these more than any other as they're claimed to be stable and reliable. Just download MySQL from the internet as it is free and get some hands on practical party LAN parties interfacing via server and client. Hope this info helps as most companies don't place emphasis on certs when it comes to database. Best wishes and welcome to cert21.com the best IT info site around. Keep em questions coming in as there some very talented people on this site willing to share knowledge and realistic experience views. Cheerio | |
| sandberg 2004-02-26, 4:39 pm |
| Thanks for the reply. I am more interested in gaining practical knowledge with SQL then just writing exams. The only problem is I can't start hacking away at a production database at work if I don't know anything about it ;-) . Is MySQL a good datbase to begin learning datbases with? I know its gaining popularity but I really have no idea where to start learning. I'm going to set up MySQL on my Linux box and try to find some info on where to start, they have lots of documentation on their site. If anyone has any suggestions on any of this please feel free to post them.
Thanks. | |
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| quote:
Originally posted by sandberg
Thanks for the reply. I am more interested in gaining practical knowledge with SQL then just writing exams. The only problem is I can't start hacking away at a production database at work if I don't know anything about it ;-) . Is MySQL a good datbase to begin learning datbases with? I know its gaining popularity but I really have no idea where to start learning. I'm going to set up MySQL on my Linux box and try to find some info on where to start, they have lots of documentation on their site. If anyone has any suggestions on any of this please feel free to post them.
Thanks.
MySQL is one of the best places to start since it is so simple and lightweight (and free). I have been using it for a number of years so feel free to post any questions. Pnce you get used to it, it is very simple. But there are some things to be wary of . . . unlike larger scale databases MySQL does not enforce referential integrity. This means that any database you plan from the ground up will have to be well documented and well-designed or you may run into problems. Read the docs at www.mysql.com and play around with it a bit. You might start by installing some apps that make use of MySQL like phpBB or PHP-Nuke and then look at the tables. Then maybe try creating some of your own databases and playing with them a bit.
Do NOT use tools like phpmyadmin until you know MySQL well, since stuff like that hides all the commands from you. You can also use mSQL, PostgreSQL for free, and I think Oracle allows you to use their product on a single machine for training purposes for free.
You will probably want to learn a little bit of a language like Perl or PHP since what you can do with the database will be limited unless you have some procedural language to expand the fetching/updating capabilities of the database itself. In practice, SQL is usually embedded in another language to allow you to do stuff with the data you get. | |
| sandberg 2004-02-28, 7:16 pm |
| Thanks for the info. I've installed MySQL on my Win98 system and I think its running fine. Also, I downloaded Oracle 10g for Linux, maybe after I know a bit more about databases I'll try to install that on my Linux system. I'm going to do some reading and experimenting with MySQL and see what I can learn so I'll proabably post back in these forums at some point with questions.
On another note, how does MS Access work in comparison to say MySQL or Oracle? I know a little access (just enoough to use it at work) but I don't understand what the differences are between the major DB's.
Anyway, time to get reading.
Thanks again. | |
| Dr. C 2004-03-01, 12:02 pm |
| quote:
Originally posted by sandberg
Thanks for the info. I've installed MySQL on my Win98 system and I think its running fine. Also, I downloaded Oracle 10g for Linux, maybe after I know a bit more about databases I'll try to install that on my Linux system. I'm going to do some reading and experimenting with MySQL and see what I can learn so I'll proabably post back in these forums at some point with questions.
On another note, how does MS Access work in comparison to say MySQL or Oracle? I know a little access (just enoough to use it at work) but I don't understand what the differences are between the major DB's.
Anyway, time to get reading.
Thanks again.
MS Access is largely a "visual" database system, where you ad tables and create relationships by dragging and clicking. You don't really need to know SQL to use it, and you can extend the functionality using Visual Basic. Access can actually be used as a front end for almost any database via ODBC. I use it at work to access Oracle, PostgreSQL and MySQL databases on occasion. | |
| sandberg 2004-03-01, 8:01 pm |
| Thanks, that makes sense now. I've always wondered what the difference was and how it interacted with backend databases like oracle or MSSQL. Thats what I use at work to access MS-SQL.
I'm starting to get the hang of MySQL a little more every day, also installed the Oracle personal edition but I don't think I'm ready to take that on yet. Is the MySQL Control Center a frontend for MySQL? I have it installed and took a quick look at it last night and noticed you can make tables and such with it. What other uses does it have?
Thanks for your help,
IRC | |
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| quote:
Originally posted by sandberg
Thanks, that makes sense now. I've always wondered what the difference was and how it interacted with backend databases like oracle or MSSQL. Thats what I use at work to access MS-SQL.
I'm starting to get the hang of MySQL a little more every day, also installed the Oracle personal edition but I don't think I'm ready to take that on yet. Is the MySQL Control Center a frontend for MySQL? I have it installed and took a quick look at it last night and noticed you can make tables and such with it. What other uses does it have?
Thanks for your help,
IRC
MySQL Control Center is a GUI front end for MySQL, yes. One caveat . . . until you know SQL *very* well, I suggest you do not use such tools. The basic problem being that since you have a visual interface to do things for you, you won't see how the product actually works. that being said, MySQL CC is a bit different since I think mainly what it does is give you a window to type in SQL commands with. phpMyAdmin is the most common GUI for MySQL . . . it is a web based interface that allows people who know nothing of databases to mainipulate tables. This can be handy if you want to delegate tasks such as updating certain areas of a website to a person in that department.
If you have MS Access, I suggest you donwload the ODBS drivers for Oracle and MySQL so that you can see how ODBC works . . . although Access was designed with MS SQL Server in mind, it can be used as front end for all of those databases. one of the strongest points that Access has I find is being able to take a text file or a spreadsheet document and import it into a table then allowing you to join this table with remote tables that you can link to. MySQL has a similar feature, but it takes more work.
Oracle in the small is much like any other database, but is usually used with *huge* amounts of information . . . it is not rare to see a business with 20,000+ tables in an Oracle installation, with views being maintained for convenience, and a whole plethora of optional (and costly) add-on tools that you can use.
Let me know if you run into any snags. | |
| sandberg 2004-03-02, 7:18 pm |
| Thanks once again. I downloaded and installed the ODBC driver for MySQL and was able to use Access on my Win2000 box to access the MySQL server on another system. Pretty cool, I finally understand how that works now and how useful access can be. When I get my Oracle server up and running i'll try it with the OBDC drivers too. I alos noticed at work today that we use a program called remedy and it uses the Oracle ODBC driver to connect to a remote database.
Do you know of any good tutorials on SQL? I'm still reading on the MySQL site but i'm going to try to find another tutorial on MySQL so I can learn how to create a database from scratch with no GUI's involved.
Thanks.
Ian | |
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| quote:
Originally posted by sandberg
Thanks once again. I downloaded and installed the ODBC driver for MySQL and was able to use Access on my Win2000 box to access the MySQL server on another system. Pretty cool, I finally understand how that works now and how useful access can be. When I get my Oracle server up and running i'll try it with the OBDC drivers too. I alos noticed at work today that we use a program called remedy and it uses the Oracle ODBC driver to connect to a remote database.
Do you know of any good tutorials on SQL? I'm still reading on the MySQL site but i'm going to try to find another tutorial on MySQL so I can learn how to create a database from scratch with no GUI's involved.
Thanks.
Ian
Excellent. GUIs can save a lot of time and work under the right circumstances, but at times they hide what is actually going on underneath and often limit flexibility, so it is best to learn the SQL then later use the GUI, so that it will be a help to you rather than a hindrance. If you are like most DBA's, you will often be required to use procedural languages to get reports out with embedded SQL inside application programs. You can't generally do that if your knowledge is limited to iconic interfaces.
There is a detailed tutorial at http://www.mysql.com/doc/en/Tutorial.html -- part of the documentation so it may not be the best, but it is complete, which is something. try some of the examples, then if you want you can try extending it with PHP or something.
Remedy probably uses MySQL, I know there are a number of other products that make use of it due to its speed and light weight. But it is a perfect example of a database application . . . you have a lot of data stored in a relatively simple set of tables . . . then you use a procedural language (probably C or C++ in this case) to create the interface and fetch/display/udpate/insert data. the SQL would be embedded into the C code.
ODBC is a sort of universal connectivity standard so that as long as you have the drivers to interface with that particular database product, you will be able to access it through Access just as though it were a local table.
I know more of databases than should be legal so feel free to throw out any more questions my way if you run into any probs. | |
| sandberg 2004-03-10, 5:05 pm |
| I haven't been online in a few days. Pretty busy at work so I don't feel like doing anything computer related when I get home.
Anyway, I'd like to take some of the database knowledge I've got now and apply it. The only problem is I have no reason to create a database, well no data to build it on actually. Have you got any suggestions for this? How can I build or use a database without having any real purpose for one.
Thanks again,
irc | |
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| quote:
Originally posted by sandberg
I haven't been online in a few days. Pretty busy at work so I don't feel like doing anything computer related when I get home.
Anyway, I'd like to take some of the database knowledge I've got now and apply it. The only problem is I have no reason to create a database, well no data to build it on actually. Have you got any suggestions for this? How can I build or use a database without having any real purpose for one.
Thanks again,
irc
Sure. You can create a database for almost any reason. You can create a simple phone list or use or to track money, or for a helpdesk database, etc. Any type of data that can be organized and displayed in a tabular form can be a candidate for a database table.
You can also include substantially more in a table than you would display.
If you need I can post some of my DDL statements for my helpdesk database and show you how I use it.
Robert | |
| sandberg 2004-03-10, 10:59 pm |
| Sure. If you would post that and give me a little help it would be great.
Ian | |
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| This is the script that I used to create a database that I was using for a helpdesk project some time ago. It's a Unix file so if you open it on Windows it will look all ran together unless you use a utility like unix2dos or something. But basically to run the script you would do something like this:
# mysql < helpdesk.mysql
Probably best to send this to the test database to test it out some then alter it as you see fit. You may not need such a detailed helpdesk database so naturally you will want to customize it for your own needs. Since the statement there are pretty self-explanatory and serve as a good example, you will be able to see how to alter this pretty well.
Like I said, to *really* make the database useful, you will probably need some bits of a procedural language. I can help you with that as well of need be. But the code is generally simple . . . you normally either call some MySQL stuff and display it or update your tables based on a form entry.
Let me know if you have any probs. | |
| sandberg 2004-03-14, 6:56 pm |
| Thanks. I'm going to get started with that asap. I'm going to set up a new MySQL server on my Linux box instead of running it on my 98 box. I may actually move from 98 to Linux on that system since I almost always use it as a server for one thing or another (file, print, SQL, etc.).
Also, I was asked by a friend who has a small business to make a database that would contain all of his customer info (names, addresses, purchase info, etc) and he would also like to query the DB for an address and be able to print that address on an envelope. I'd like to do this for him with MySQL, but I'm not sure how to go about the envelope address idea (other than a simple copy and paste into MS Word or something (since this will be running on a windows based system). I'm sure there 's a way to do this but I don't know if its more trouble than its worth with MySQL or if I'd be better off to build it with Access anyway sicne it's a very simple DB.
If you have any suggestions on that I'd love to hear them.
Also, as for knowledge of a procedural language, I know some perl if thats of any benefit. I did know a bit of PHP too at one time and I know that's commonly used with MySQL.
Anyway, I'll be on here all night, got lots of work to do.
Thanks again,
Ian | |
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| quote:
Originally posted by sandberg
Thanks. I'm going to get started with that asap. I'm going to set up a new MySQL server on my Linux box instead of running it on my 98 box. I may actually move from 98 to Linux on that system since I almost always use it as a server for one thing or another (file, print, SQL, etc.).
Also, I was asked by a friend who has a small business to make a database that would contain all of his customer info (names, addresses, purchase info, etc) and he would also like to query the DB for an address and be able to print that address on an envelope. I'd like to do this for him with MySQL, but I'm not sure how to go about the envelope address idea (other than a simple copy and paste into MS Word or something (since this will be running on a windows based system). I'm sure there 's a way to do this but I don't know if its more trouble than its worth with MySQL or if I'd be better off to build it with Access anyway sicne it's a very simple DB.
If you have any suggestions on that I'd love to hear them.
Also, as for knowledge of a procedural language, I know some perl if thats of any benefit. I did know a bit of PHP too at one time and I know that's commonly used with MySQL.
Anyway, I'll be on here all night, got lots of work to do.
Thanks again,
Ian
OK, splendid! Now we have a project we can work on. This is good since you can go straight to designing the database rather than focusing on the abstracts only. You might want to try this in several ways. My suggestion would be to do this in *both* Access and MySQL. Access will get the database up and running for you quickly with all the wizards and so on, but your MySQL will fare much betetr if you intend to make some of the information available on the web later on and will teach you a lot more about database design.
As for the envelopes, this is where Access really shines. Look at the report wizards in Access . . . there are actually many types of reports you can use . . . labels, envelopes among them. Reports are things that are specifically designed to be printed out and the tools that Access provides in this area are unequaled. Keep in mind that you can have the database in MySQL and use Access as a front end to access the data via ODBC.
Certain thigns to keep in mind here. Thus far, referential integrity is still not fully implemented in MySQL . . . this means that if you have two tables related by a key value, you can delete some required data that is required by data in another table . . . so be careful in your design if you do this. As for Access, it enforces RI, but has scalability problems and would create havoc if you allowed users to try to get reports via the web using access.
One thing I heard my college teacher tell me a lot: "Resist the temptation to code". This meas that you need to understand your problem well before even *beginning* the project. Then, after the design is complete, you start working with the software. Find out how much data this database will need to hold (keeping in mind future expansion), how many tables your db can be expected to have, whether this data will be used for web access, backup plans, security, etc. Then after your research is done, start coding.
Perl can be used much the same as PHP, the main benefits of PHP is that it runs as an Apache module and thus runs about 10 times faster, and the code is not nearly as convoluted. CGI (which is how Perl is usually used) is becoming to be thought of as more of a security risk, so I would suggest using PHP on Linux, but Perl (or any other language that can run on your platform, actually) would work as well.
Using Linux alone, you could format an envelope using troff, but to tell you the truth, the text handling in Unis is so awkward ans such a PITA that using Access to do the envelopes would be better.
If you need any clarification, let me know and I'll do what I can to clear things up.
Cheers,
Robbo | |
| sandberg 2004-04-02, 4:38 pm |
| Hi,
Sorry for the long delay in replying. I just had surgery on my hand/wrist so I haven't been able to do much with a computer for a while.
Anyway, getting back to normal now so I'll be continuing work on the DB that I mentioned and I'm sure i'll have a few questions for you. If you could give me your email address or send me an email if you don't want to post it > bit_pattern@yahoo.com , it would be easier to communicate.
I'll keep you posted as to whats going on.
Thanks for your advice.
Ian | |
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| quote:
Originally posted by sandberg
Hi,
Sorry for the long delay in replying. I just had surgery on my hand/wrist so I haven't been able to do much with a computer for a while.
Anyway, getting back to normal now so I'll be continuing work on the DB that I mentioned and I'm sure i'll have a few questions for you. If you could give me your email address or send me an email if you don't want to post it > bit_pattern@yahoo.com , it would be easier to communicate.
I'll keep you posted as to whats going on.
Thanks for your advice.
Ian
Hi Ian,
I piped you an email so that we can keep the exchanges going. See you there when the wrist heals up.
/R |
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