Week 17: SQL Adventures Begin

Week 17 marks the first week of my third class at CSUMB, CST 363 Database. While this is not my first time learning SQL it's definitely been interesting being reintroduced to it after a long time.

Relational database tables and spreadsheets look similar with both having rows and columns.  What are some important differences between the two?

• Spreadsheets store data in cells which are organized by rows and columns whereas databases store data in tables where each row
• Spreadsheets are limited by the number of rows whereas databases are not limited but the amount of data can affect the performance of the database.
• Spreadsheets display all the data upfront whereas databases need to be queried to view the data.
• Databases provide data validation by default to provide better data integrity whereas spreadsheets need to be configured to do so.

Installing and setting up a database and learning how to use it is more complicated than just reading and writing a file.  What are some important reasons for using a database rather than just using files to store the data?

Databases provide data validation and allow multiple users to interact with them. Furthermore, databases can be integrated with other software to create applications and websites which can use the data in the database to display information.

What do you want to learn in this course that will be useful in your future career?

I would like to learn how to use a database for a web app as well as how to better interact with a database.