DATABASE DESIGN

Whether you’re starting from scratch or just need a better database solution, TrueStep can help you set up, maintain, and administer your database(s). A database can be used for just about anything these days, making most hand filing systems obsolete. The only downside to databases is that for most of us, they are too difficult to set up and administer.

We know we need a database, but where do we begin?
The intimidating thing about a database is that they can be set up, quite literally, in an infinite number of ways. This is why 90% of the work involved in setting up a database takes place in the planning phase. Before you setup a database, you need to carefully think of every imaginable way that you will need to query and manipulate the data.

Example
Lets say that you want to know which customers have used your products or services more than once, live in the Southeast region, and have called your customer service line at least once. Your database may be capturing all of this information, yet you may not be able to retrieve this information easily if it wasn’t set up to return such queries. The point of this little tutorial is not to intimidate you more than you may be already, but to illustrate that when a database is set up properly, the information contained within it can be manipulated to answer any query you could possibly imagine. A database could soon be the single most powerful business tool you have, as long as it is planned carefully and set up properly.

Our Experience
TrueStep has experience with the following databases and database-related languages: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MSQL, MS SQL Server, SQL 92, TSQL, Sybase, PHP, Cold Fusion, ASP, CGI, MS Access, and XML.

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