Programming: Database Programming

There comes a time in every programmers life when they need to store values into something other than a text file. When that day comes, you will need to learn how to access databases.

Working with databases requires the knowledge of SQL. SQL stands for structured query language. SQL is a collection of standards set by leaders in the database industry. The idea is that all databases should follow these standards at the minimum to allow ease of use between vendors. For example, to get a value from a database, all databases should have a "SELECT" command that work the same. This is great because now you know that once you learn database programming, there will be only a small learning curve when you switch vendors. It would be frustrating to have to learn a whole new set of instructions if you switched databases.

Each vendor has ways of making their database transactions faster. So there are ways to optimize database queries, but in general it's best to stay away from this if you think you might change database vendors or allow your application to work with different databases, like Oracle and MySQL.

Database Programming is not bad, but creating a relational database can be tough. It is best to read about relational databases before trying to make one. If you plan on having only one table, then relational databases don't apply and you're free to do whatever you want.