Free Version of SQL server

L

lrevellese

n00b
Joined
Jun 25, 2008
Messages
23
Whats up guys...i was just wondering if anyone know of a free version of sql. I started taking database in school and i wanted to play with it a little bit more at home. My teacher is not that good at hands on stuff and I think i should get a little more practice.
 
lrevellese said:
. My teacher is not that good at hands on stuff and I think i should get a little more practice.
Click to expand...

That is a shame because hands on stuff is what students SHOULD be doing in the classroom on top of theory. Plus, the stuff you learn on your own will probably be better in the long run that the stuff you learn in class, it was for me anyway.
 
Bigbacon said:
That is a shame because hands on stuff is what students SHOULD be doing in the classroom on top of theory. Plus, the stuff you learn on your own will probably be better in the long run that the stuff you learn in class, it was for me anyway.
Click to expand...
You confuse college with trade school. The point of a databases course in a Comp Sci degree is to understand how databases work and store information, not how to utilize a database for practical applications. Either topic could fill a class, but college classes are about the first, not the second.
 
lrevellese said:
Whats up guys...i was just wondering if anyone know of a free version of sql. I started taking database in school and i wanted to play with it a little bit more at home. My teacher is not that good at hands on stuff and I think i should get a little more practice.
Click to expand...

Do you do any web programming, or any other database driven stuff on your own? If so, this is an oppertunity to learn to use them together.

What you choose here would depend on your hosting situation, and what (if any) DBMS is installed. Good chance MySQL is up there. It's the most popular free one.
 
.NET and SQL Server Express is a good use too. Start out by building some simple web forms and things that pull information from a database. Make the forms to also insert into the database as well.
 
Just to add to the "practice on my own" note there, I have a small observation.

When it comes to classroom work, many many students seem to fail when it comes to going beyond the scope of what has been explicitly taught previously in class. On the odd chance they do want to do something that haven't yet learned, they either dump the idea or ask someone else "how".

So, while practicing on your own is great, and you should definitely explore as many concepts as you can, I find it easier to take an assignment and layout "what more can i do", and "how can i do it better". If you don't know, a quick google search will usually point you in the right direction.

Anyway, slightly off topic, but perhaps a relevant note.
 
If you're looking for a Free DBMS for learning, you're probably better off with Postgres than with MySQL - MySQL has too many little nonstandard behaviors that would just distract you.

Actually, come to think of it - if you just want a lightweight 'toy' - SQLite might do everything you need to get acquainted with SQL without having to deal with any of the complications of having to set up a connection to a server.
 
Do a google search for "Oracle Free"

You can get Oracle 10g for free. It is enough to get your feet wet and Oracle is one of the top databases in the business world.
 
Arainach said:
You confuse college with trade school. The point of a databases course in a Comp Sci degree is to understand how databases work and store information, not how to utilize a database for practical applications. Either topic could fill a class, but college classes are about the first, not the second.
Click to expand...

You didn't have a very good professor then. Any good professor is going to do both in the same course. They will teach you the theory and understanding, start you off with some basic projects that allow you to understand the theory and see how it applies, and then put you into teams for larger real-world projects later on in the course. That's what I expect from any top-level course. Any course I took that only did one or the other was 1 or 2 level, and I want to a meh state college.

Vengance_01 said:
MY-SQL along with PHP would be good for you to learn at the same time.
Click to expand...

tgabe213 said:
.NET and SQL Server Express is a good use too. Start out by building some simple web forms and things that pull information from a database. Make the forms to also insert into the database as well.
Click to expand...

Both of these. Don't cut yourself short unless you already have a job doing one or the other lined up somehow. If you want to be a web programmer, you should be familiar with both the PHP/MYSQL combo and the .NET/SQL Server combo.
 
Python said:
Do a google search for "Oracle Free"

You can get Oracle 10g for free. It is enough to get your feet wet and Oracle is one of the top databases in the business world.
Click to expand...

If you have access to an oracle database that's already setup and administrated by someone else, this could work. For a beginner, setting up even an Oracle XE install is a daunting task. Configuring the tnsnames.ora and either an ODBC or sqlnet.ora depending on your environment and tools can be a royal PITA.

MrMike said:
Both of these. Don't cut yourself short unless you already have a job doing one or the other lined up somehow. If you want to be a web programmer, you should be familiar with both the PHP/MYSQL combo and the .NET/SQL Server combo.
Click to expand...

I agree completely. Play with both mysql/php and .net express/sql express. Start with whichever environment you are more familiar with.
 
Another option would be MySQL as the back end, and set-up a ODBC like connection to use MS access as a front end. If you are new to SQL this might be a help as it builds the query for you. This way you do not have to worry about syntax etc.. if you are just starting out. Just a thought.
 
Depending on your setup and whether it has to be usable with a third party host, I would highly suggest checking out Firebird.

It seems to bog one down in DBA tasks a lot less...it's not as globally compatible as MSSQL, MySQL, or Oracle but they do have decent drivers for most languages.

If you're just getting started and want to learn some web app stuff (you don't need a dedicated web server to do this, btw), I'd highly recommend Java servlets and jsp's. All the best IDE's are free, do most of the hard configuration stuff for you, and are very much world class. Also SUN's on site documentation and tutorials are by and large pretty helpful and accesible.
 
All you need is an installation of PostgreSQL. Come with a psql interactive terminal. No glue required.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top