computers

sql question

When creating tables in sql, do you have to designate foreign keys somehow or do you just put them in as regular attributes?

speakers last thursday!

I just wanted to say that the guest speakers on friday were very helpful. First off, they made me realize that blogging is actually useful in the real business world. Prior to, listening to Andy I really had no idea how companies would actually use blogs.
Second of all, I think that Rich should implement some kind of blog onto his website. It seems that he has a great success rate with his clients and the emails he sends them. By creating a blog on his site he will be able to let his customers interact with each other while producing more hits to his site.
Third of all, would Rich's for of advertising (on that sponsored side of the google page) work for companies like GM, which are big and not related to computers. What im saying is that maybe part of the reason for his extremely high success rate is that he is in the computer business so naturally more people are going to use the computer to get his product. Perhaps, this skews his results a little bit.
Anyway, i know this analysis was a little late but I havent had access to a computer for awhile
-go yanks

SSH or jEDIT

After talking to some fellow classmates, there was some uncertainty whether you can type your query directly into Oracle or if you have to do it in jEDIT. I was experimenting in class and you can type it in Oracle but it is very inefficient. If you have mistakes in your command you have to retype the entire command - at least that is what I have found. In jEDIT, you can easily go back to your file and revise and change your command. Although it gets some what redundant saving every little query, it pays off in the long run. Just wanted to let people know, since I know some of us were wondering.

SQL question

In chapter 2 of "A guide to SQL", I created the Rep table successfully and then I tried to input actual data into the table. When I input the data into the table, do I input it via jEDIT and then view it in Oracle? Also, if i am supposed to do it in jEDIT do i put the INSERT command in the same file that I created teh table or do i save it as a totally different file? I tried to do it saving it as the same file but had some difficulty getting the data to display.

Sports blogging!

I know sometimes it can get a little bit redundant to be constantly looking at blogs about computers, RSS, and ER diagrams... so i took the liberty of looking for a blog forum that entails something of great interest to me and maybe to you too! This site detroit sports is a great site to get timely Detroit sports updates via blogs. As midterms and finals steadily approach and the Pistons get ready to defend their championship, you probably won't be able to catch every single game on tv. My recommendation is to check out this site and remain a well-educated Detroit sports fan.

Idea and a question!

This past summer at my work the managers were talking about having a suggestion box in the office. This box would be used to anonymously make suggestions on how to better the office. We ran into a few problems with this for a few reasons:
-our office was too small so everyone saw when and if someone made a suggestion (thus limiting suggetions)
- Managers were fairly well acquainted with each employees handwriting since it was a relatively small office (about 35 people).
My thought was to implement a blogging board into the business and allow people to comment on the recommendations, rather than simply having management make the decisions. I thought this would be a good idea as long as the author of each post could remain anonymous. Which leads me to my question - Can you make it so no one can see who the author of the post is? For example, my posts say my name at the bottom, can you eliminate that? If anyone knows, please let me know.

ER Diagrams a little easier!

I have been doing ER diagrams since last year in CIS 301. I even did a little bit at my job this summer. Although I have relatively limited knowledge of databases, I do have some tips to make reading ER diagrams a little easier. Tip 1: take it slowly. Too many times people try and work way too fast. Tip 2: don't try and look at the entire diagram at a whole, but rather try and break it up into subsections. This allows you to see entity relations easier and more clearly. Tip 3: write out each relation in words. This is a personal preference but it always helps me when dealing with cardinality or ternary relations. It also allows me to remember each relation without having to decipher the diagram over and over. I hope this post helps some people out, since I sensed there was some difficulty with people grasping it during class today.

Blogs for rulemaking!

I was sitting in my Business Law class the other day and we were talking about rulemaking in the government. One of the procedures for rulemaking is that each proposed rule be open to criticism from the public. Currently, the government does this via the website - regulations.gov. I think this would be a good site to institute a blogging format to post opinions and suggestions about rules. This way everyone could view each others thoughts and be notified when new opinions popped up.
Just some food for thought!

Why normalization, ER diagrams, and BIT??

Today I was walking through the halls of the b school and I overheard two apparent BBA1's talking about BIT and that it was for computer dorks. I could not help but think that they could not be more wrong. I personally used knowledge from BIT 301 during my internship this summer and I worked in an accounting/finance department. It doesn't matter what field you are working in, you will use a database, or information technology. So for those of you who think that BIT is for dorks that like to sit in cubicles and not interact - you are wrong! Coupling BIT with another concentration (like finance or accounting) makes you a more well rounded employee and a greater asset to your company. Countless times during my work experience computers went down and databases were designed improperly - to be able to have someone readily available to fix these problems is invaluable (trust me it takes the IT department days before they respond to a request!) Anyways, I just wanted to reassure you that BIT can and will help you advance your career.
Just some food for thought!

RSS is not for Dummyz

I am commenting on the following blog - Tranquilidad's Initial Thoughts. I definitely found this website (RSS for Dummyz) to be extremely helpful in clearing up some questions I had regarding RSS. It makes RSS crystal clear by spoon feeding you exactly what RSS is. If you have any questions regarding RSS and don't feel comfortable asking them in class (though you should feel comfortable with the great professor we have) take a look at the site. Thanks tranquilidad for posting that link so I am not an RSS Dummy!