Re: PostgreSQL Training

For what it's worth:

If you can find an old server some place that you can throw a copy of
PostgreSQL on, play with it. Break it. Fix it. Play with it some
more.

As an old education major (who got into this biz quite by accident) I
know that people "learn" differently, and that they often have the best
results by learning via the method that best suits their needs.

But, one advantage of playing with it in the manner I describe is that
you don't get locked into the opinions or prejudices of the person
doing the training.

When faced with the probability of using PostgreSQL in a project, I
followed the "Getting Started" section from the documentation on my
linux box at home. I installed it, played with it, wiped it out and
started again.

A little painful at first, but in my opinion, the dividends were HUGE.

Again, your mileage may vary.

Good luck,
Frank

--- Amy Young <Amy_Young(at)hilton(dot)com> wrote:
> Thanks for everyone's support. I really appreciate it. I will admit
> that I learn *best* -- at least in the beginning -- through
> structured,
> formalized face-to-face training. But, there does appear to be a
> community of support here. I haven't started with the basics out of
> the
> book yet, so I think I'll start there (I'm at the VERY beginning, and
> don't want to bog down the list with TOO basic questions). But, rest
> assured, I'll be back.
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Amy
>
> -----Original Message----
> From: sank89(at)sancharnet(dot)in [mailto:sank89(at)sancharnet(dot)in]
> Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 9:18 AM
> To: Amy Young
> Cc: Bret Busby; pgsql-novice(at)postgresql(dot)org;
> pgsql-general(at)postgresql(dot)org
> Subject: Re: [NOVICE] PostgreSQL Training
> Importance: High
>
>
> Dear Amy Young ,
>
> You will get full support from this PostgreSQL community but
> before asking question please do add some common things like
> My System Configuration is :
> OS Blah
> GCC compiler More Blah
> PostgreSQL server Version Even More Blah
> PostgreSQL data path /mydir/myblah/data
> And yes If you are using PHP or Perl for data representation
> their full details
>
> And then state your full problem / question with steps if
> possible
>
> Here we are to help you , am I right guys :-) and Mr.
> Bruce are you listening
>
> Regards,
> V Kashyap.
>
>
>
> Bret,
>
> Thanks for voicing your opinion. I'll second it as
> loudly as I can.
>
> I work for a small 5 member team in a major hospitality
> corporation.
> Our team has a mish mash of responsibilities (help desk,
> tool design
> through MS Excel and MS Access, and corporate
> reporting). We are just
> pushing the limits of MS Access capabilities with the
> amount of data we
> are getting pushed to us for our corporate reporting.
> The amount of
> data is only going to grow and we realize we NEED to
> move to a SQL
> server of some kind. Cost containment is a huge factor,
> so the
> free-ware aspect of PostgresQL is extremely enticing.
> However, only 1
> person on our team has ANY experience with SQL servers
> and none with
> PostgreSQL. We originally started investigating MySQL,
> but found it to
> be slower than the convoluted work around we've
> developed in MS Access.
> Further investigation revealed that it may be due to how
> we had the
> server set up. Then, someone suggestions PostgreSQL.
>
> I have been reading what I can, and while I understand
> some of the
> concepts, and I am still mostly floundering my way
> through "Greek". I
> need a strong foundation in the basics. I had found the
> MySQL class and
> have added that to my goals for next year. However, it
> will take some
> strong arguments to convince my superiors to send me to
> training for
> something that will "sort of" apply to what we are doing
> in the office.
> So my options are: use MySQL instead or don't go to
> training.
>
> In the mean time, I will investigate the "21 day" book
> (I have used the
> series many times!) and hope the PostgreSQL community
> will recognize the
> need for some training classes (The certifications are
> optional as far
> as I'm concerned, though I recognize the power of
> certifications since I
> used to teach at New Horizons Computer Training Center.
> I just want
> someone to hold my hand and walk me through the entire
> process so I can
> learn the lingo. Then, I can figure things out on my
> own). And I'll be
> asking as many questions on the list server as I can.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Amy Young
> Sr. Revenue Analyst
> Memphis, TN
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pgsql-novice-owner(at)postgresql(dot)org
> [mailto:pgsql-novice-owner(at)postgresql(dot)org] On Behalf Of
> Bret Busby
> Sent: Wednesday, December 10, 2003 1:09 AM
> To: pgsql-novice(at)postgresql(dot)org;
> pgsql-general(at)postgresql(dot)org
> Subject: Re: [NOVICE] PostgreSQL Training
>
>
> On Tue, 9 Dec 2003, Bryan Encina wrote:
>
>
>
> Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2003 15:06:05 -0800
> From: Bryan Encina <bryan(dot)encina(at)valleypres(dot)org>
> <mailto:bryan(dot)encina(at)valleypres(dot)org>
> To: 'Bruce Momjian' <pgman(at)candle(dot)pha(dot)pa(dot)us>
> <mailto:pgman(at)candle(dot)pha(dot)pa(dot)us>
> Cc: pgsql-novice(at)postgresql(dot)org
> Subject: Re: [NOVICE] PostgreSQL Training
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------(end of
> broadcast)---------------------------
> TIP 4: Don't 'kill -9' the postmaster
>
> .
>
>
>
>
>

=====
Frank Way
E-Mail: fgw_three(at)yahoo(dot)com

"Place guards on all the roads and keep the troops
from running to the rear..." MG John Buford, 1863

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