Database Software in Demand

What database software packages should you include in your training? Per a survey in Computerworld magazine at the end of 2000, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access and DB2 are the database skills that are in the highest demand.ⁱⁱⁱ Therefore, search out courses that concentrate on these packages. However, if you are currently working for an organization, make sure you investigate which database tools they are currently using. Often companies will make a decision to use one development tool for all large-scale databases deployed in the organization. You may not be given a choice of development tools, so you would want to tailor your training to the tools currently used by your employer.

The following sections contain a brief overview of popular database software environments.

Microsoft Access

Access is a powerful yet easy to use relational database that is part of the Microsoft Office suite of products. In Access, Microsoft has provided "wizards" that walk users through the set-up of simple relational databases. Access is a product suitable for the development of small-scale databases that are used in small office workgroups with relatively few numbers of users. Because of its ease of use, Access is often used to develop prototypes of larger scale databases. Migration of data from an Access database to another SQL database (such as SQL Server or Oracle) is accomplished relatively easily. Therefore, Access can be a good choice for small-scale databases that will eventually require a more robust environment. Access requires a Windows environment to run.

Access databases can be made very user friendly and attractive by designing input and viewing forms for the database. Below is a picture of a customer data form from the Northwind sample database that ships with Access.

Microsoft SQL Server

This is Microsoft’s large-scale database product. Containing much more robust tools than Microsoft Access, SQL Server can handle much larger databases that are accessed by large numbers of simultaneous users. SQL Server, like Access, runs exclusively in a Windows environment. The advantage of SQL Server over Access is that it can handle medium to large size databases. The trade off is that SQL Server databases are much more complex than Access databases and therefore require more personnel with a higher level of training to maintain them. If MS Windows is the preferred platform at your organization SQL Server would be a good choice for a scalable database solution, since Microsoft also developed it. Having database software that was written by the same company that developed your operating software eliminates finger pointing by the vendor when problems occur. SQL Server is widely installed and therefore SQL training will provide a skill set that is desirable by a large number of corporations. Also, SQL Server and Sybase (another popular relational database) were originally based on the same product. Therefore, many SQL Server skills can be transferred over to a Sybase environment. The language used by SQL Server is called TRANSACT-SQL. This language adds basic programming elements, such as parameters, variable and logic structures (IF WHILE, etc.), to standard SQL language statements.^iv The objective is to make it easier for the user to write programs to access and modify data.

SQL Server 2000 makes advanced features like data mining easy by using wizards such as these.

Oracle

Oracle is an extremely powerful and complex database environment that is used to run large scale databases. It is the world’s most popular database and runs on a variety of platforms including Windows, Linux, UNIX and several mainframe operating systems.^v It is an expensive program that requires highly skilled personnel to configure and maintain it. However, it is extremely scalable and can be used to support high volume transactional databases. Many web businesses (such as eBay) require large databases that can be accessed by high numbers of simultaneous users. Oracle has consistently proven it can handle large volumes of transactions.^vi In additional to its database tools, Oracle offers a large suite of business applications that can be run on top of the Oracle database environment. Since Oracle is widely used, Oracle skills are in high demand by many employers.

DB2

DB2 is an IBM product that has enjoyed a long life as a large scale solution on mainframes. However, DB2 is also available for UNIX and Windows platforms and is making gains in those arenas as well. DB2 is a solid product with a large installed base of users. Many legacy database systems are happily running on DB2. DB2 is able to host huge databases and data warehouses and competes favorably with other large scale solutions (such as Oracle) in terms of speed and reliability. If your organization already has databases running in DB2 on mainframes, it may make good sense to standardize on DB2 as your development environment for PC-based databases also.

If you are currently working for a company, arrange for database training on the platforms your company uses currently. Otherwise, training in popular SQL language based databases (such as SQL Server or Oracle) should suffice.