Why Isn't a Database "Easy"?

by Bill Warner and Cal Locklin

Every so often, we see a post on the message board, or a comment in an article, to the effect that someone wants an "easy" database. Even though Alpha Five is considerably easier to use than other databases, these people complain that it still isn't "easy." Apparently, they are looking for something that will do everything for them. Ah, if it were only possible...

First of all, "easy" is a relative term. It's "easy" to understand what someone says - unless, of course you don't speak their language. Therefore, "easy" implies a certain level of basic understanding. With a database, understanding what this basic level is can be confusing. So, let's try an analogy.

A hundred years ago, building a house was quite an undertaking, for two reasons: the tools available were very crude (ax, hammer, maybe a saw), and the knowledge required for building a house was not trivial - you had to have a basic understanding of the construction process, strength of the building materials, etc.

Today, building a house is much easier with all the power tools and greater variety of building materials available - if you know how to build a house. For someone with no building skills, it's still going to be a demanding (and perhaps impossible) endeavor.

Now let's look at databases. The "tools" are the features built into the database itself, such as Action Scripting, Genies, built-in functions, and saved operations in Alpha Five. These tools have made building an application much easier than it used to be - if you know how to build a database application. This is the key to understanding an "easy" database - you need a basic understanding of the principles of database development to create a useful application. Many people who say that Alpha "...isn't as easy as they claim..." usually have little or no understanding of the complexities of designing a good database application.

Another reason this issue can be confusing is that it is quite easy to initially compile data. For example, almost anyone can open Excel and start adding names and addresses¹ (and, for some, this will be sufficient). However, putting data into a database is only a small part of a useful database application - it's how you get the data out that determines how useful the database will be. This, in turn, is determined by what your needs are. And, as we have seen in our many years of designing applications for a great variety people and businesses, there are nearly as many ways to process and use the data as there are people using it.

Therefore, building an application, like building a house, takes a significant amount of skill and experience. The more of these you have, the better the result. Just like the Excel spreadsheet holding names and addresses, almost anyone could take some 2x4's and plywood and construct an enclosed space - but there probably wouldn't be many who would want to live in such a structure.

So, is Alpha "easy?" Just as power tools have made building a house much easier than it used to be, Alpha's "tools" have made building a database application much easier. However, both still require the builder to have or learn the basic design concepts.²

¹ While this is an easy way to start a "database," Excel is not the optimum tool for developing a true database application. For more info, see Excel is NOT a Database.

² For information on database design, check out "Relational Database Tutorial" in Google, or your local library.