Oh my fair lady, let me count the ways that I love thee. OK, forget that, let me consider the many things we do together. It is a torrid steamy affair!
Things I do with my DBs
ask questions of them - query, query and more queries.create snippets of SQL for the more useful - frequently asked questions.
create them - from scratch - occasionally.
modify them - add tables, queries
enforce rules between tables - integrity rules - so if someone leaves the fold - then all their fingerprints are removed from the home. Or If someone joins the fold - all the homes in the village know about it.
Back them up - frequently. The DB is the lifeblood to the applications that it serves.
Archive the backups - these little nuggets of gold need to stay around for along time. Years. People like to ask things like "who was that in that room all those years ago?"
Trim them. We must keep the DB healthy - no extra weight sitting in those trouble spots.
Add to them. New kids in town - new tables and subsequent queries and reports
Automate them - Add triggers so certain important things always happen.
Export from them - others want to share too. The village down the road is interested in how things are done at the local town hall.
Import to them. We need to keep up with Jones. They have something we want.
Delete them - occasionally. Their town is vacant - a ghost town. Lets grab a snapshot of the town before we sweep the streets - just to be sure.
Copy things from them, like tables, queries, reports even forms. We have worked very hard to create this street - complete with beautiful lights, homes and a neighborhood watch! We want a replica of that street in this other town.
Create connections to them - so we can visit. When I go to a new place - I need directions to get back to town. Sometimes I even export those directions, so I can share with others.
Create meaningful information by creating queries that show information from data.
Sharing sharing sharing and more sharing. This is the most prominent thing that I do in my job as it relates to the DBs. The DBs are in fact the lifebood of any application. The application looks so nice and does so many nice things - BUT - if the DB is at ALL corrupt - even a little tiny bit - the shiny application SUCKS and FAILS.
When shiny applications are retired, its the DB - the blood that is preserved. It is the DB that can provide insights, stats, information etc etc etc.
Learn how to be a DB caretaker and live!
Learn how to build, fix, improve, diagnose, backup, restore, export from, import to, create connections, archive - explain - normalize - establish integrity.
Become a resident DB guru and you become an invaluable resource to your organization.
Lean SQL. study it, play with it, confuse yourself, ask lots of questions about it, research how others use it. Go to training, attend on-line lunch time SQL seminars - free ones! Contribute back, help others, get confused - get un-confused - blog about your learning, failures, successes. Be part of the SQL community. SQL is the lifeblood to the DB - which is the lifeblood to your organization.
nice post james, I like the analogy of building a new town.
ReplyDelete