[Za-pm] Databases & Perl
Anne Wainwright
aesop at fables.co.za
Tue May 13 03:38:07 PDT 2008
Hi,
A ramble of a know nothing, for comment and suggestions.
Bear in mind that apart from my dos database I am fairly competant with
Paradox. For the uninitiated, this Windows app was originally from Borland,
later from Corel, and provides a database with integrated design
environment where you can add your buttons and tables etc to a form and
then add code to those objects to make it go the way you want. Far more
powerful than Excel was. Design of forms and reports is a snap.
Now realising that even Paradox's time has come with it on the back burner
at Corel and perhaps not likely to survive many more M$ operating system
upgrades, the thought to migrate to something like mySQL has been in my
mind as the ultimate way out to freedom from M$.
I see and note that Perl has many modules and features designed to enable
it to work with an sql type database. The questions in my mind revolve
around some complex applications that I have created in Paradox. Am I going
to have to create them with a much lower level language than I am used to?
Paradox's ObjectPal provides a fully integrated development environment
where you drag and drop and add some code to the objects already dragged,
sized, coloured, and dropped.
Further confusion because so much of what I read (well, scan) on sql
databases refers to their use for internet applications and how to view the
data through your browser. Has Perl passed its sell-by date in this field?
Other languages such as php and many others appear to hog the limelight in
this field. Is this now the de facto way to interface with a database - via
a browser that perhaps dispenses with the whole procedure to create a full
application interface? Is PHP and your browser the quick and easy way even
if you are only using the application on your own intranet (mine has 4
machines at the most) and not over the internet?
I am wondering which path to slowly follow. Maybe I should investigate
things like Firebird database which seems to offer an already established
graphical interface and forget working from the ground up with Perl.
As you can see I am lost in the desert here. Any comments on how the ground
is laid out these days and which path I should take are most welcome.
Rather post to the list as my email client will handle these automagically
for me.
Thanks
Anne
----
Anne Wainwright
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