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Databases

Posted by tylerpostuma2
tylerpostuma2
5,175 Points

What is a database?

Hey everybody! I hope this doesn't come off as a dumb question but I really would like to start knowing more about databases. I have done some research and really haven't found anything that really makes a lot of sense to me. My question is really, What is a database? How do you set one up? My confusion is on how you set one up and access it. If anybody has useful information, or any useful websites that I can visit to learn more, please link them to me! Thanks everybody!

Simon Coates
Simon Coates
28,694 Points
Simon Coates
Simon Coates
28,694 Points

How to access might be via database client software, or if you mean programmatically, then treehouse has some courses that are concerned with this question - on a per technology basis. For example, i did the php series on connecting to mysql through PDO.

Some of the technology tracks (php, python) will include connecting to a particular database as part of the content.

2 Answers

Simon Coates
Simon Coates
28,694 Points
Simon Coates
Simon Coates
28,694 Points

They have a number of courses that do the brief high level introduction of what is a database. These explain it better than i'm likely to. For example, see https://teamtreehouse.com/library/database-foundations A database can be a variety of things, and the use may dictate the type of database (relational, nosql), or particular DB (mysql, sqllite, mongo, oracle) etc. This will likely affect the setup steps.

tylerpostuma2
tylerpostuma2
5,175 Points

Thanks! Really appreciate it!

Cindy Lea
PLUS
Cindy Lea
Courses Plus Student 6,497 Points
Cindy Lea
Cindy Lea
Courses Plus Student 6,497 Points

I would first start by reading wikipedia. Not only will it define what a database is, it is great at hyperlinking all the connections to other documents so you can read more about every detail about a database.

For a quick meaning of a database...my meaning....its a place where data is stored in a systematic way so that inserting data and deleting data is done in a timely manner. Depending on the company that creates the database software setting one up can be from simple to complex. Microsoft Access would be a great software for you to learn the database basics. Oracle & SQL Server are more advanced databases that require a lot more expertise & knowledge to setup.

Get a book on SQL & it will help you understand the workings of database manipulation & how it all works together.

tylerpostuma2
tylerpostuma2
5,175 Points

Thanks for the answer!