Re: Spread*** vs Database for certain situations

There are data that I will store in a spread***, but if someone is looking
for rules when to use a spread*** to store tabular data the answer is
never. IOW, never use a spread*** as a database.

You certainly can't conflate a workbook of worksheets into a single-user
RDBMS.

Data should be captured in a data capture tool and analyzed in an analysis
tool. What you can do with a spread*** you can do much more effectively
with a database and a spread***. The spread*** can connect to the
database and extract data for all the analysis you want.

I've never seen a spread*** used to capture meaningful data that didn't
turn into a data validation project. So someone tells me just store that
customer list in a spread*** is someone who has turned one task into three
tasks.

BTW, the CS platforms I've used can also store designer comments in the
catalog. Paradox can't do this, and xBase can't do this, but I think pretty
much everything else can and does. Oracle and MySQL for sure can.

--
Larry DiGiovanni
Digico, Inc.
IT Consulting and Staffing Solutions
www.digicoinc.com
Check out www.thedbcommunity.com for Paradox resources.

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