Re: Thoughts on "Love Your Database"

On Wed, May 4, 2016 at 8:04 AM, Steve Crawford <
scrawford(at)pinpointresearch(dot)com> wrote:

> First, you hit them over the head with a copy of "SQL Antipatterns:
> Avoiding the Pitfalls of Database Programming". It is a tad out of date and
> tends to use PHP and MySQL for the main examples but does also address
> different solutions available in PostgreSQL, Oracle. MS SQL server, etc.
> while pointing out the risks of various common foot-guns and providing
> alternatives.
>
> Or point them to this recent Linux Journal article by Reuven Lerner (who
> is occasionally seen on these lists):
> http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/use-your-database
>
> Developers often have a pre-Gallileo world view that they and whatever app
> they are coding is the center of the universe and databases, networks,
> storage and the rest all revolve around them existing only to support their
> app.
>
> But ultimately the church of the developer gets forced into the modern era
> and finds that the data is at the center and the apps that allow input,
> maintenance, extraction and analysis all revolve around those core crown
> jewels. Then, *gasp*, there are other people and apps touching "your" data.
> Are they all validating the data the way you do? Protecting it? Retrieving
> it efficiently? Only then does the real value of the database come into
> focus.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, May 3, 2016 at 9:11 PM, Guyren Howe <guyren(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
>
>> I've long been frustrated with how most web developers I meet have no
>> idea how to use an SQL database properly. I think I'm going to write a book
>> called Love Your Database, aimed at web developers, that explains how to
>> make their apps better by leveraging the power of SQL in general, and
>> Postgres in particular.
>>
>> I'm thinking of a section on features of SQL most folks don't know about
>> (CTEs are *way* to hell at the top of that list, but also EXCEPT/INTERSECT
>> and window functions), but much of the book would be about how to do things
>> server side. Benchmarks showing how much faster this can be, but mostly
>> techniques — stored procedures/triggers/rules, views.
>>
>> I asked a colleague about the advice I often hear stated but seldom
>> justified, that one shouldn't put business rules in the database. He
>> offered that server-side code can be hard to debug.
>>
>> I'm sure many here would love to see such a book published, maybe some
>> talks on the topic given.
>>
>>
>> What might I cover that I haven't mentioned? What are the usual
>> objections to server-side code and how can they be met? When *are* they
>> justified and what should the criteria be to put code in Postgres? Any
>> other thoughts? Any other websites or books on the topic I might consult?
>>
>> TIA
>>
>> --
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>
>
(Apologies for the top-posts - forgot to override the GMail defaults...)

-Steve