What is this site about?

Custom Designed Databases is all about well, the expansive subject Custom Designing of database applications. Why did I start this site? Well, I’m fascinated by database applications, what they can do, how they help people and most of all, how the good ones, the most useful, get to be built.  It’s also about things I’m learning as a database developer, site owner and database administrator.

Here are some reasons why I’m a good source for this subject matter

• I’ve learned from the ground up
• I’m ‘in the trenches’: right now!
• I’m working on projects where custom designed databases are built
• During my day I’m surrounded by many smart people, developers and ‘database’ people
• I listen and always try to learn something new to improve what I do
• I enjoy educating myself and others about how databases get built and how the can be built the best

A little about the individual that created this site…

I went to college for a different reason altogether, I never thought I would end up as a developer and database administrator yet here I am.  Nor do I think anyone absolutely needs to go to college or have a degree to do this kind of work. Given persistence and a desire to learn and do well, one can succeed in this arena.

My first job happened to put me with a software development firm. However I ended up taking a job doing administrative tasks. It was low paying but I was happy to take it. Over many years I became proficient in creating tables for tracking shipping in LOTUS 123, Excel and DB4.  I became quite proficient with this over time. Being in close quarters with developers and software people changed me I think.

In retrospect, I being around other developers, even if I wasn’t developing at that point, got me starting to think  that I could do it too. So I have to thank that original environment for giving me some helpful notions about what might be possible. 

Then, I starting learning ms-access. My first impression of it, I didn’t like it! Yet, I was enthralled to find out that you could automate many tasks with basic programming.  That feeling of wonder has stayed with me and I feel blessed to have participated in bringing some of these systems to life. 

One of the revelations during those early years, was that ms-access could save tons of work hours on different tasks, like mailings and organizing data and generating reports. One of the early career wonderings I had, was to imagine I could enter any office and find bottlenecks to productivity. Many such bottlenecks could be solved with human-computer cooperation via custom database applications. In my way of thinking, (I’ve observed this many times), such custom database applications can increase productivity by a significant degree.

In any case, I did not end up becoming that kind of consultant. But, out of that experience I learned enough to get my first ‘real’ job in IT. That is when I ran into VB and SQL Server. Now, years later, several jobs later, I’m amazed to look back. I’ve survived some business cycles. I’ve ended up surrounded by many competent developers and database professionals.

From these people, I continue to learn much from. In fact, one of the keys to my longevity  has been to listen and learn from those around. And it is from this perspective, I often share with site visitors, what I’ve encountered.

From where do these posts come from?

The source of the posts come from my own experiences past and present. At some point I’d like to have some guest posts come in for a different perspective. Also in the future I’d like to create a method for visitor’s to request articles.

Database Products featured in this site

I’ve managed to stay fairly close to Microsoft Products. I frequently use products like ms-access and SQL Server and ORACLE. 

Web Hosting

Running a site, one learns a lot about databases hosted on shared accounts. I’ve used two, Godaddy and Arvixe. I freely write about such experiences especially as they relate to database products and the task of creating online databases. I should note that more recently, I’m relying on Arvixe more, why? I find they are developer friendly and have less ‘bagagge’. Godaddy tends to clutter up the online work environment because they market features even when you are logged on attempting to do work. Godaddy’s ownership has recently changed. It will be interesting to observe if there are any changes.

How does this site operate?

This site operates with advertising and some affiliate links to help defray the cost of maintenance and development of new features. Otherwise it’s completely ‘Free’. It is based on the idea that visitors come to the site freely and find informative articles. Some links or ads related to the content will be present. I feel having some related advertising on a site actually makes it more useful to visitors. Often time they find things they need.

Education and Learning

Another objective of this site is for learning and education. I want this site to be informative and educational. I want this site to help people with whatever similar themed problems they come up with.  I try to include posts with information that people need and want. I feel I’m getting better at this as I gain experience.

Designing and databases

The proper design and implementation of custom designed database applications remains an area of deep interest with me. I enjoy studying why some applications seem to work better than others. Often times, many ‘little’ details produce a huge impact (positive or negative).  I continue to learn lessons about this vast subject and will include posts on this subject on this site.

A Good Wish to All Site Visitors

I hope you all find something worthy on this site. It’s still very new. I wish to thank you for visiting. I hope to have more posts and more features as we grow.