Microsoft Excel is not a database

OK, I know Excel comes preloaded on the machines at work and I know having a
big table *looks* like a database, but it isn't. Want to compare a load of
stuff across 3 tables and pull out only what you need? Tough. Want to sort
on more than 3 criteria? No can do. Want to make sure the data is in the
right format and you don't enter text into a number field? Good luck.

The project I'm working on involves doing stuff with loads of spreadsheets
but until they're loaded into a proper database where they should be, the
information is pretty useless. Thankfully one thing Excel *is* good for is
creating SQL insert scripts. Unfortunately Access doesn't like scripts with
more than one SQL statement, or even SQL statements more complex than SELECT
a FROM b WHERE c ORDER BY d, so I'm using SQL Server instead. It doesn't
take much more setting up than Excel would either. I wonder how different
things would be if they'd done this in the first place and had a central
database rather than several hundred spreadsheets with conflicting or out of
date information.

Just a bit of a rant, but at least I'm getting things under control.

mh.
--
>From address is a blackhole. Reply-to address is valid.

"People are animals too."
.

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