Re: Excel not the right tool?

["Peter J. Harbeson" <harbeson -at- GARLIC -dot- COM>]

There are databases and then there are databases. It's possible to construct
a very useful database system in Excel as long as its limitations in
functionality and storage capacity are acceptable.

Another perspective on software tools is to assemble just a few that have
some flexibility, and learn them thoroughly enough that you can get the most
out of them. I suppose that might be "warping" them to some extent, but my
personal preference is to use a small set of applications for nearly
everything. As a side benefit, it's easier for me to know when a different
application is necessary if I'm very familiar with the limits of the ones I
already have.

Pete Harbeson
harbeson -at- garlic -dot- com
THIS is what happens when you don't have an email editing department!

-----Original Message-----
From: Miki Magyar <MDM0857 -at- MCDATA -dot- COM>
Date: Friday, January 22, 1999 12:04 PM
Subject: Excel not the right tool?


Correct me if I'm wrong (now there's an invitation!), but I thought Excel
was designed as a spreadsheet program for accounting stuff, not as a
database. Okay, okay, any collection of Stuff can be considered a
'database', but I'm talking about programs like Paradox (which is the only
one I have used) that are designed to support a structured query language,
data entry, and so on.

It seems reasonable to use the right tool for the job. If you're only
familiar with one tool, perhaps it's time to expand your horizons. So in
answer to Alecia Lee's query about using Excel to create a catalog, I'd
suggest she explore what proper database programs can do.

We've seen a number of posts asking "How can I warp this tool that I already
know to make it do something quite different?" My generic standard answer
is, don't bother. Find out what tool is designed to do that job, and learn
to use it. The usual caveats of time and budget apply, of course.

Anyway, that's what I say. I just said it.

Miki
mikim -at- ieee -dot- org

"there's a dance in the old dame, yet, archie"

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