Sunday, October 02, 2005

group3,

I have both the SVN server and the PostgreSQL server running. Thorben, I have added you to the SVN server.

Concerning the access for the database server, the usernames and passwords are going to stay the same like the SVN server, so there won't be any confusion. Check 30 minutes after this post is posted. after i finish writing this, i will enable the access to the database.
  • I'm mainly going to talk about the database server (or DBMS for short). To start off, it works.
The only disadvantage that there is is that we do not have a PHP front-end to the database. if you don't know what that is, don't worry about. but if you do, the reason is because of resticted access to the server. However, we are Computer Science students so that shouldn't stop us.

I have searched for software that will allow us to access the database. Do not be confused. There are two ways that I think we should access the database.
  • FIRST, is to access the DBMS directly. It will be something similar to what we are doing in the Database course at the faculty. you run a program, you type in the server information, you log in and you either have a command-line interface with the DBMS (like Oracle) or you have a Graphical Interface with the DBMS which is similar to Microsoft Access. So for example, you can set up your tables and fields for testing before creating anything with JAVA.
  • SECOND, is to use JAVA in our source code to access the DBMS, which is going to be the ultimate goal.
* The IP_ADDRESS of the database server is the same as the SVN server.
* I suggest you install one of these and try the database out before our MEETING ON MONDAY AT 4p.m.
* everyone owns a database that is the same as your name. so eduardo logs in and has a datbase name called eduardo.
* http://www.postgresql.org/docs/7.2/static/jdbc.html - this link you should definitely read. it tells us how to connect to the database driver with JAVA. it should also help with installing Openoffice.org for accessing our database.
* You can ADD a comment to this post if you feel that you can post info that is also USEFUL for the rest of the group.


There are 5 different software packages that we CAN use.
  • Access to the DBMS is possible with Microsoft Access. ( http://pgw32cli.projects.postgresql.org/ ). Download the FULL Version. This little program should make it very very very simple for you to get Access and the database connected. What you will need is an ODBC driver which is used to connect Access to any database, in this case it will connect to our lovely PostgreSQL database. Don't worry, the ODBC driver is installed automatically if you download the program. I dont' run windows XP so you are on your own here. There shouldn't be a problem if you try this. It's windows anyway, just click click and click some more.
  • Access through OpenOffice.org is very easy and looks the nicest! (http://download.openoffice.org/2.0.0rc/index.html) Just imagine that you are downloading Microsoft Office but this version is free. It contains one program called BASE, which is the program used to access databases. With this software, you need to use the JDBC driver. You will have to install the JDBC driver anyways when you start programming in JAVA, so this option is not any longer than the rest. It took me about 2 minutes to set it up. 1 minute to save the postgresql-8.0-312.jdbc3.jar file (the JDBC driver) into the right CLASSPATH and 1 minute to open Openoffice.org and click through the options. The JDBC driver is located here: (http://jdbc.postgresql.org/download/postgresql-8.0-312.jdbc3.jar) You need to change the CLASSPATH variable, go to the Micro$oft website: (http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/environment_variables.mspx) Your CLASSPATH variable has to include the location of the folder in which you downloaded the JDBC driver. so if you downloaded the postgresql-8.0-312.jdbc3.jar file into c:\java , then your CLASSPATH should include c:\java so that it can find the file. Whenever you are asked for the JDBC Driver class, then type this in: org.postgresql.Driver When you are asked for the URL, it will look like this, jdbc:postgresql://host:port/database where host=IP_address_of_the_server, port=5432,database=the_name_of_the_database_assigned_to_you. That might be all you need. if not, then add a comment to this post.
  • pgAccess - ( http://www.pgaccess.org/index.php?page=PgAccessforWindows ) Download the STABLE release. on the same page there is a link for'WINDOWS INSTALLATION' screenshots here: http://www.pgaccess.org/index.php?page=NewPgAccessEnglish
  • pgWorksheet - ( http://pgworksheet.projects.postgresql.org/install.html ) The detailed installation instructions tell you how to install it. It's easy for Windows XP. You need to first install the GTK+ software suite, and then you can install pgWorksheet. It's a normal windows install, meaning click click click and it should work.
  • pgAdmin - (http://www.postgresql.org/ftp/pgadmin3/release/v1.2.2/win32/) is an attempt to make it as easy to access a DBMS as Microsoft Access. It looks very cheap but it is very powerful. Installation is very easy. IF it asks you to install PostgreSQL, then say no because you do not want to install PostgreSQL at any point, it's already on the server!!

posted by Edward Huerta @ 8:33 AM

1 Comments:

At 10:18 AM, Blogger Edward Huerta said...

One extra note for installing on Openoffice.org . These steps you should follow after you download the JDBC driver.

1.) open BASE.
2.) Cancel any wizards and choose TOOLS->Options from the top menu bar.
3.)Under -Openoffice.org go to JAVA menu.
4.)click on the CLASSPATH button.
5.)click on ADD ARCHIVE
6.)look for your 'JDBC' *.jar file you downloaded.
7.)Press OK and restart BASE.

Continue with the Installatin Instructions from the main blog.

 

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