[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] pgAdmin usage?

[Duimovich, George]

Hello Tony,

pgAdmin is a great tool, very stable and the de facto standard for most users connecting to PostgreSQL.

Some prefer console access but I'd say that most of us use pgAdmin for direct database access - easier to read the output of queries and lots of usability tools (browse schemas, view data, wizards, etc.). Both methods only get "dangerous" when you start running queries that update or change data in whatever way. There are ways to limit your troublemaking (such as connecting using a "read-only" account, etc.) but you also probably want to have access to a test or dev database so you can really explore SQL and the database schemas without worry of breaking anything. Getting "dangerous" can be a good learning experience, but only on test data of course!

See Dan Scott's excellent intro to SQL here: http://coffeecode.net/archives/212-Introduction-to-SQL-for-Evergreen-administrators.html

I've also used WinSQL (www.synametrics.com<http://www.synametrics.com>) and recommend it as an option especially for new users. One extremely useful feature is that WinSQL shows table relationships with a right click on the id / key field of any query output to screen.  This saved me **lots** of time in the early days of learning Evergreen since you could start with a simple query (like select * from actor.usr where family_name = 'Smith') and then instantly see and browse to any of the dozens of actor.usr relationships with a single click on the id field. Super excellent to help you get started on what data gets stored where without having to browse tables and experiment with join queries (often challenging when you first start looking at the database schemas).

pgAdmin also has a GUI-based query wizard which helps identify table relationships on the fly,  and make sure you take advantage of the timesaving "Favourites" feature to bookmark any useful queries. I find I'm using both pgAdmin and WinSQL about 60/40 (depending...) and also wouldn't be surprised if many sys admins are using more than one tool / method to query / browse their databases.

Good Luck

George

George Duimovich
NRCan Library / Bibliothèque de RNCan

________________________________
From: open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org [mailto:open-ils-general-bounces at list.georgialibraries.org] On Behalf Of Tony Bandy
Sent: September 21, 2012 12:03
To: Evergreen Discussion Group
Subject: [OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] pgAdmin usage?

Hi all,

Working on increasing my knowledge of Evergreen's inner workings, I've come across some threads on using pgAdmin to do various db tasks and queries.  Just wanted to pitch this out there and get anyone's thoughts on the pro vs. con of using this particular tool vs. console usage.

Good tool or dangerous?

Thanks for your thoughts.....Happy Friday!

Tony

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Tony Bandy
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