Re: I am NOT a programmer!

On 2012-05-10 08:43, Shawn Matthews wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I tried to install PostgreSQL as part of a package install of Open
> Portfolio Manager, from Sourceforge.net. The trouble is, I am not a
> programmer or even have significant IT experience. I was trying to
> install OPPM in order to organize my daily business, which is project
> based. My boss has refused to pay for any management system, and so I
> started looking around for an open source solution that I can install
> on all of our computers.
>
> My question is a two-tiered one.
>
>      * Do I have to be a programmer to install PostgreSQL, working from
> the C prompt?
>      * If so, where should I start to learn any of these basics so that
> I
> can get up and running as quickly as possible.
>
> I have some interest in learning programming, but am bewildered with
> where to start or how to organize a learning schedule. Any help would
> be greatly appreciated.

The simple answer is: No, and http://www.postgresql.org/docs/

That said, if you haven't done any programming or have any IT
experience, Postgresql is going to have a learning curve.  ;)  This is
not Access or Filemaker; Postgresql is a high-end database, which is
designed to be used as a data store by your company's own customized
application.  (Or applications.)  The 'default' client that ships with
Postgresql is basically a debug/setup console.

I'm not familiar with the product you've referred to: If it's a full
application that uses Postgresql as a data store, presumably you
shouldn't have to do more than basic setup (which should be covered in
their documentation), if they've done a good job of creating the
package.  If it's something you are building based on a more generic
package - tell your boss it'll probably be cheaper (and faster) to buy
something.  ;)  (Because your time is worth money too, and you'll have
to spend a fair amount of it on a project like that.)  But it would be
needed to be treated like any other development project: figure out your
requirements, and what you need to know.  Read through some courses on
SQL, and work out what you need to be able to track/store, and then work
out how to do that in Postgresql.  I like O'Reilly as a general source
of technical information, and Postgresql itself has very good docs.
(Though for a quick introduction/review of SQL, I like the SQLite docs:
http://www.sqlite.org/lang.html )

And don't be afraid to ask questions as needed.  You'll probably have
lots.

Daniel T. Staal

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