Thread: Postgresql Windows ODBC

On Apr 22, 2005, at 8:07 AM, Typing80wpm@aol.com wrote:

> Tonight I shall install the Postgresql ODBC driver which I downloaded,
> and experiment.
>  
> Is anyone using ODBC?  I was looking at Realbasic standard edition
> (not professional), and thinking of downloading the demo and trying it
> with the ODBC.  Anyone here use Realbasic at all?
>  
> In Windows, what would you say is the easiest language to use which
> can talk to Postgresql? Just curious....    e.g. I have Liberty Basic
> which is very easy, but does not easily support ODBC...
>  
> Is anyone working with some form of Python on Windows.  I downloaded
> Python, but it seems to run only in some DOS window. I mentioned this
> on a Dreamcard/Revolution board, and they said "Oh, you want PYTHON 
> CARD."
>  
> Anyway, I would be interested to learn of an easy language which can
> access Postgresql, together with some decent examples or tutorials to
> get me going.  I have a feeling that Realbasic will do the trick.


My take is that the professional version is well worth the extra $300
if you are really serious about doing database development. It has
support for PostgreSQL and a lot of other databases already included.
If I was developing an application for some one else to use, ODBC would
be my last choice because of the configuration and setup hassles.


John DeSoi, Ph.D.
http://pgedit.com/
Power Tools for PostgreSQL

In my opinion the easiest language for any database development is
Borland Delphi bar NONE.
You can get the pro version for for 499.99 as a upgrade or a personal
editon is also available for free or little cost.
You might even be able to get a copy of Delphi 7 on ebay for much less.

For Postgres development I use the Zeos components(www.zeoslib.net) and
PostgresDAC(www.micoolap.com).

Here is a quick example of how to execute a query with params in Delphi
with a tdataset compatible query component.

myquery.clear;
myquery.add('select firstname from companyinfo where lastname = :PARAM1');
parambyname('PARAM1').asstring:= 'smith';
myquery.open;

At this point if you have bound the query to a grid you will see the
data, or you could loop through the result set like this:

myquery.first;
while not myquery.eof do
   begin
         showmessage(myquery.fieldbyname('firstname').asstring);
         myquery.next;
   end;

The above code also works on Oracle, MS SQL, Mysql, DB2 etc etc as long
as you use a tdataset compatible component set.

I have used C#, VB.net and VB classic and NONE of them are as easy and
intuitive to use for database development as Delphi  NONE.

Delphi 2005 also includes Delphi.net and C# along with native win32
development in pascal, you can also use the Kylix with the Zeos
components for development on Linux, and while there has not been a
update to Kylix in awhile, it still works great.

You can do lots more stuff with Delphi as well, just about anything you
could do in C or C++ minus device drivers.


Tony Caduto
AM Software Design
Home of PG Lightning Admin for Postgresql 8.x
http://www.amsoftwaredesign.com



>> ?
>>
>> In Windows, what would you say is the easiest language to use which
>> can talk to Postgresql? Just curious....    e.g. I have Liberty Basic
>> which is very easy, but does not easily support ODBC...
>>
>> Is anyone working with some form of Python on Windows.  I downloaded
>> Python, but it seems to run only in some DOS window. I mentioned this
>> on a Dreamcard/Revolution board, and they said "Oh, you want PYTHON
>> CARD."
>>
>> Anyway, I would be interested to learn of an easy language which can
>> access Postgresql, together with some decent examples or tutorials to
>> get me going.  I have a feeling that Realbasic will do the trick.
>
>
>

<Typing80wpm@aol.com> wrote in message news:99.5cf7f551.2f9a42e8@aol.com...
> Tonight I shall install the Postgresql ODBC driver which I downloaded, and
> experiment.
>
> Is anyone using ODBC?  I was looking at Realbasic standard edition  (not
> professional), and thinking of downloading the demo and trying it with the
> ODBC.
> Anyone here use Realbasic at all?
>
> In Windows, what would you say is the easiest language to use which can
> talk
> to Postgresql? Just curious....    e.g. I have Liberty Basic  which is
> very
> easy, but does not easily support ODBC...
>
> Is anyone working with some form of Python on Windows.  I downloaded
> Python,
> but it seems to run only in some DOS window. I mentioned this on a
> Dreamcard/Revolution board, and they said "Oh, you want PYTHON   CARD."
>
> Anyway, I would be interested to learn of an easy language which can
> access
> Postgresql, together with some decent examples or tutorials to get me
> going.
> I have a feeling that Realbasic will do the  trick.
>

Your question is too broad to be easily answered.  What kind of application
do you want to create, to meet what need for whom?  In what kind of business
environment will it be running?

Depends for what purpose. I've found that if you're heavy into doing
user interface stuff on Windows, Delphi is great for that. Lots of
built-in widgets plus zillions of 3rd party addins makes it easy to drag
and drop your way to full-blown apps.

For data manipulaton, my opinion is nothing beats Visual FoxPro. While
it also has screen/forms/report designer stuff, it just doesn't feel as
fast and elegant as Delphi. But if you need to parse/alter/sort data
before dumping it into Postgres, VFP makes your life so easy. It's
especially good for power users doing adhocs. In theory, a power user
could write that perfect query that gets the data they precisely the way
they want it. In reality, it's a lot of trial and error. Using VFP, you
could just get the records and then use the plethora of XBase commands
to manipulate the results to your heart's desire.

For building web apps, I dunno too much about since I use Perl on Linux
for that. However, Ruby on Rails looks pretty UI friendly in being able
to build a website w/ limited coding.


> In Windows, what would you say is the easiest language to use which can
> talk to Postgresql? Just curious....    e.g. I have Liberty Basic which
> is very easy, but does not easily support ODBC...