[ddj] SQL Vs Excel Vs Refine

[Nicolas Kayser-Bril]

I haven't used Excel in a long time, using a mix of Google Spreadsheet,
Refine and custom scripts to manage and analyze data.

Although you can survive without SQL, it remains the standard in relational
data, as Steve said. You'll find quite a lot of APIs rely on a SQL-like
structure (like the Fusion Table, Scraperwiki or CartoDB API). SQL will
also make it easier to grasp other query languages such as SPARQL or Cypher
when you move into triple stores and the like.

nicolas.


On Mon, Apr 29, 2013 at 8:09 AM, Stephen Doig <steve.doig at asu.edu> wrote:

>  A main reason to learn SQL is to handle relational data — datasets that
> come with several tables that may need to be linked. A simple example would
> be a large main table that uses codes for categorical variables like race,
> type of crime, hospital diagnosis, etc., then separate lookup tables that
> translate the codes into something readable. SQL also will handle large
> datasets beyond the one million or so records that is the current Excel
> limit. SQL also will do complicated queries that involve conditional
> statements.
>
>  With that said, Excel will handle the majority of data problems most
> likely to be faced by most data journalists. It's a good idea to start
> learning SQL so as to be ready when that big project comes up, but skills
> with Excel (or Fusion Tables) will take you a long way.
>
>  Steve Doig
>
>
>
>   From: Andrew Duffy <andrewjamesduffy at gmail.com>
> Reply-To: "List about Data Driven Journalism and Open Data in
> Journalism." <data-driven-journalism at lists.okfn.org>
> Date: Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:37:51 +1000
> To: <data-driven-journalism at lists.okfn.org>
> Subject: [ddj] SQL Vs Excel Vs Refine
>
>  Question:
>
>  Are there any data journalists/devs out there that can advise as to
> whether it's worth learning SQL? So far a combination of Excel/Google
> Refine has been more than enough for dumping, organising, and cleaning my
> data projects, but I have only worked with spreadsheets up to ~500 rows.
>
>  What can SQL do that refine/excel can't?
>
>  --
>
> *Andrew Duffy - Journalist*
>
>
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