[ddj] SQL Vs Excel Vs Refine

[Siegmund Führinger]

hi joe!

don't forget about http://www.sqlite.org/. no server you have to take care
of. it's just a simple command.
i use it quite a bit even though i have several postgres and couchdb
servers.

SiFu


On Mon, Apr 29, 2013 at 5:21 PM, Joe Germuska <joe at germuska.com> wrote:

> I like all of Sharon's answers quite a bit. Especially "it was designed
> for subsetting, slicing and dicing" and "easier to go back and check my
> work"
>
> But I sometimes wonder: when people ask "should I learn SQL?" aren't they
> usually asking "is SQL really worth all the arcana of installing MySQL or
> Postgres?" Unfortunately, it is pretty arcane, although the MAMP/WAMP
> package seems to be a pretty good way to get going.
>
> I'm sure people will chime in with other favorite installers, packages,
> GUI admin tools and the like, but I'm afraid that the plethora of responses
> is just going to reinforce for many journalists the basic problem—it can
> quickly become its own adventure. A great adventure, like learning to cook
> food from scratch instead of from kits and convenience packages, but an
> adventure nevertheless…
>
> Joe
>
>
>
> On Apr 29, 2013, at 7:46 AM, SMachlis at computerworld.com wrote:
>
> > What I like about SQL:
> >
> > = It was *designed* for subsetting, slicing and dicing data. Yes, I can
> do this to a large degree with Excel and Google Refine; but with a more
> complex project -- especially as others have pointed out, with data having
> one or more relationships between multiple tables -- there are times that I
> find that using a tool designed for the job to be less frustrating and
> considerably more robust.
> >
> > = If I am dealing with a large data set that is already in multiple
> tables, SQL makes more sense to be than trying to shoehorn that data into
> an Excel-friendly format.
> >
> > = It helps me think about data in a more structured way, which is very
> useful when I've got projects where I'm collecting and storing my own data.
> >
> > = It helps me understand what sorts of data I can and can't reasonably
> request from government agencies that store their data in structured
> databases.
> >
> > = If I am sharing data with colleagues, sometimes it's useful to be able
> to put up a simple PHP/MySQL app on our intranet (Rails or Jango might be a
> better choice for this, but the shared internal server I have access to
> does not include those platforms). Even if I'm creating a Web application
> with a third-party service such as Caspio, I find it helpful to be able to
> think about data in relational terms.
> >
> > = Having a series of SQL commands I can store in a file makes it easier
> for me or others to go back and check my work, versus a series of Excel
> point-and-click operations (or even multiple macros buried in Excel).
> >
> > Sharon Machlis
> >
> > ________________________________________
> > From: data-driven-journalism-bounces at lists.okfn.org [
> data-driven-journalism-bounces at lists.okfn.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Duffy [
> andrewjamesduffy at gmail.com]
> > Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 12:37 AM
> > 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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> --
> Joe Germuska
> Joe at Germuska.com * http://blog.germuska.com *
> http://twitter.com/JoeGermuska
>
> "Science's job is to map our ignorance." --David Byrne
>
>
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