On Fri, 16 Sep 2011, Andy Colson wrote:
> Sorry, I should have been a little more clear, but, at least you got
> things cleaned up. PG has a huge number of data manipulation functions.
> If you have to export data out of a database in order to massage it, then
> that's a failure of a database. PG (and sql) were meant for just this kind
> of job.
Andy,
Your comments are appropriate and the URLs well noted. Most list members,
particularly those who offer sound advice based on long experience and great
expertise, most likely work with postgres on a daily basis. This is true of
most application-specific mail lists.
I'm almost certainly not alone in using postgres sporatically because my
project needs require a diverse set of tools and I don't use any one of them
day in and day out. Well, perhaps except for emacs and LaTeX/LyX since I do
most of my writing with the latter. This means that if I've not used an
application for a while I need to relearn information pushed aside by more
current project needs.
The constant variety of needs in my business (spatial modeling with GRASS,
advanced statistical analyses with R, data storage and retrieval with
PostgreSQL, critical reviews of proposed legislation concerning water
quantity and quality, fish and macroinvertebrates, etc.) is stimulating and
satisfying. I'd almost certainly fail in a position where I'm doing the same
things (or mostly the same things) every day. The downside is that I don't
know each application intimately and completely. So I am grateful for the
patient guidance and explanations you, and others like you, provide. I save
all these messages and grep them to find specific content when I again
encounter a problem I resolved in the past.
Many thanks,
Rich
