Re: Postgres and Tools Intro?

--- Randy Yates <yates@ieee.org> wrote:

> Hi Richard,
>
> Thanks for writing. Basically I'd like to know what
> the core
> applications/tools are and what some of the other
> more exotic tools
> are. For example, pgadmin looks like it's gone
> through a bazillion
> versions. Which is the latest/greatest?  What
> exactly does it do?

PgAdminIII is the latest.  It is a graphical
interface, especially useful for database
administration and development.  Many people use it
and are happy.

>
> If I want to connect to postgres securely from a
> remote location
> over the net, what are my options? Is that part of
> the postgres
> ODBC driver, or is another layer required for the
> security part?

You can use SSL with ODBC, but it requires a bit of
fiddling about.  Search the archives for information
about that.

>
> Why should or shouldn't I use ODBC for connecting
> remotely?

ODBC is working fine for lots of people right now.
The other mature interfaces include libpq (C) and JDBC
(Java).  There are others which reportedly work well.
It all depends on your choice of development platform.

>
> More in the exotic territory, are there tools for
> translating database
> schemas (I would like to move my MS Access database
> into postgres)?

PgAdminII (the previous version) had a plugin
"Database Migration Wizard".  I have kept my PgAdminII
installation just because of this.  I am very happy
with the results I have had translating MS Access
databases to PostgreSQL by using that Wizard.

> Is there a tool for converting a postgres query or
> table into an
> MS Access .mdb file? This would be very useful, the
> scenario being
> that the "big" database resides in postgres on a
> remote server with
> a browser interface, but users can download
> "snippets" of data (or maybe
> even the whole tamale) in Access format to their
> local machines.

No such tool exists that I know of.  You could do it
in code from an existing .mdb file, e.g. something
that runs when the file is opened.

>
> Got any suggestions?
>
> --Randy
>
> Richard Huxton <dev@archonet.com> writes:
>
> > Randy Yates wrote:
> >> This has probably been asked before so please be
> gracious. I
> >> have looked on the postgres site and didn't find
> anything
> >> "satisfying."
> >> Is there *good* overview of postgres and
> associated utilities?
> >
> > Hmm - not for the family as a whole. Part of the
> problem is that there
> > are quite a few add-on tools. The postgresql.org
> docs cover the
> > database quite well - between the reference
> manuals and the FAQ it
> > gives a good picture.
> >
> > What particular aspects are you interested in? I'm
> sure we can find
> > people who can help.
> >
> > --
> >    Richard Huxton
> >    Archonet Ltd
> >
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> >
>
> --
> %  Randy Yates                  % "Maybe one day
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> %% Fuquay-Varina, NC            %
> and kiss her interface,
> %%% 919-577-9882                %            til
> then, I'll leave her alone."
> %%%% <yates@ieee.org>           %        'Yours
> Truly, 2095', *Time*, ELO
> http://home.earthlink.net/~yatescr
>
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