Aside from how sexy your new-found database knowledge will make you, you should also appreciate the importance of the database on the Web. There may come a day when the anticipated "fat pipe" (big bandwidth) makes it into every home in the world, making the Web a viable entertainment alternative to radio, TV, or the art gallery. But for now and the foreseeable future, the most successful uses of the Web involve the exchange and sorting of information. Think about the most useful sites out there. The Internet Movie Database, Monster.com, and Amazon.com all offer ways to search, sort, and view massive amounts of data.
The thing that makes each of these sites work is a relational database. Since these sites have to handle a tremendous number of hits, they use big, expensive RDBMSes (relational database management systems). The names for the RDBMSes they use are familiar to anyone who follows the Nasdaq: Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server, Informix. Go to school for a couple of years and dish out 30 grand for Oracle, and you'll be ready to create your own systems capable of doing a billion dollars' worth of transactions.
But that's a pretty tall order for small fries like you and me. Instead, let's shoot for a slightly more obtainable (though still sexy) goal: Rather than fork over 30 grand for a heavy-duty management system, we'll use tools that we already have to create a site capable of tracking a more modest amount of information. Don't worry - there's plenty you can do with a small database on your Web site:
- Track the progress of projects where key players are in several locations.
- Put up a dynamically generated Web page that allows folks to share common interests on topics like books or music.
- Maintain control of contraband as it heads across unfriendly borders.
- Keep track of the movements and whereabouts of your enemies. (If tied in with Mapquest, this could be really effective.)
- Catalog every last Web site dedicated to Dawson's Creek. Find out who the creators are and add them to the enemies database.
- Keep abreast of stalking laws. Make sure you're not violating them with any of the above databases.
I could go on, but you're probably ready to get started, which is cool with me. Let's take a look at the database tools we already have.
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