Get your name on the Wall!
The PSQL v9 Wall of Fame is Pervasive's way of saying Thank You to all PSQL v9 users, while letting the world know that PSQL v9 is the embedded database for business applications!
If you're a PSQL v9 user, we want you to become part of the PSQL v9 Wall of Fame. All you need to do is register at our PSQL Wall of Fame Web site and you'll automatically be entered in our daily Amazon voucher prize draw. That's right, starting May 1 until June 30 we will be giving away one $50 Amazon voucher a day every day – Monday through Friday! The sooner you join the PSQL v9 Wall of Fame, the more chance you'll have of winning a voucher. But that's not all! At the end of June we'll be drawing one lucky name for the grand prize: a 60GB Apple iPOD.
Join the PSQL v9 Wall of Fame, You'll be eligible for the daily drawing every Monday through Friday. Participants to the PSQL v9 Wall of Fame will be featured on an upcoming Wall of Fame Web site.
Increase your chances of winning by joining the PSQL v9 Wall of Fame today!
Haven't tried PSQL v9 yet? Not to worry! You can download a trial version here. Test it today and join our PSQL v9 Wall of Fame.
Tech Tip: Querying and analyzing your PSQL data
In this month's Tech Tip, we'll use OpenOffice to query PSQL's sample database, Demodata, using JDBC.
OpenOffice is an open source alternative to Microsoft Office. Like Office, OpenOffice is a suite of office productivity tools. Each tool works similarly to Office, it just has a different name. For instance, in OpenOffice you would use Calc, instead of Excel, and Base, instead of Access. Like Office, OpenOffice includes tools for connecting to and querying various data sources. In this issue's Tech Tip, we'll use Base to setup a PSQL database connection and Calc to query the data.
Before you begin using PSQL with OpenOffice, the OpenOffice classpath must be configured to use the correct JAR files for the PSQL v9 JDBC driver. JDBC does not require that a PSQL client be loaded on the user's PC. Only three files must be copied to the local system (these files are normally available from the c:\PVSW\bin directory):
- Pvjdbc2.jar
- Pvjdbc2x.jar
- Jpscs.jar
Once these three files are available, the classpath can be set using the "Options" selection from the Tools menu.
Now a new database can be created and registered in OpenOffice. Using the File menu and the "New" option, you will see a wizard that takes you through the steps of creating a new database:
When you click "Test class," you should see the following message:
Unless you've secured Demodata, no user name or password is required.
When you click "Test connection," you should see the following message:
Note that the option, "Yes, register the database for me," has been checked. This option ensures that the new database is available to other OpenOffice applications, like Calc, which we'll use later. Now finish the wizard.
Once the database is setup, here's what you will see in OpenOffice Base:
You can create queries for your PSQL data too. This simple query will list the student names, major, minor and GPA:
Now, switch to Calc, OpenOffice's spreadsheet, to see how easy it is to use the data from PSQL. Click the "Data Sources" icon in the toolbar to see the available databases and browse through the data. In this example, I've selected the query, StudentSummary, that we created earlier.
Data can be copied and pasted from the Data Sources viewer. You can select one or more cells, columns, or rows, and drag the data to your spreadsheet. This copies the selected items into the spreadsheet cells for manipulation.
DataPilot is a powerful tool you can use to summarize data. If you've used a Pivot Table in Microsoft Office, DataPilot should be familiar. Here we'll create a summary of the Billing table.
Once the table is selected we can pick and choose the fields for our summary.
Here's a view of the completed DataPilot alongside the original Billing table data.
OpenOffice is one of a number of great options for analyzing PSQL data. More information on OpenOffice is available at http://www.openoffice.org.
A complete set of JDBC-related documentation, download components and code snippets is available on the dedicated JDBC page in the Pervasive Developer Center.
Expand Your PSQL Knowledge, Increase Your Success
If you haven't done so already, now's the time to register for next month's PSQL and DataExchange training courses.
Pervasive PSQL Service and Support
Date: May 22-24, 2006
Who benefits? This course is designed for new and existing Pervasive PSQL users who require in-depth technical knowledge of Pervasive data management products in order to facilitate CPT certification, application design, and integration, deployment, QA, or support. This course provides the educational foundation to maximize use of Pervasive PSQL, minimize customer TCO and increase end-user product experience.
Advanced Network Troubleshooting for Pervasive PSQL
Date: May 25, 2006
Who benefits? This advanced course is designed for Pervasive PSQL support and networking professionals who want to understand how the database works in the underlying networking environment, in order to understand common performance problems and to learn advanced troubleshooting techniques using a network analyzer.
Pervasive DataExchange
Date: May 31-June 2, 2006
Who benefits? This highly advanced course is designed for Pervasive PSQL support professionals who need the ability to setup and maintain solutions to data movement and synchronization such as real-time backup and data synchronization.
More detailed information regarding these courses, as well as the registration form, are available online.
PSQL Radio: Analyzing your data was never easier
An existing misconception is that Data Analysis and Business Intelligence solutions are only available to the large enterprises in the world. Nothing could be further from the truth, and this month's PSQL Radio edition proves it! Listen as Product Manager Chris Kauffman shares vital information on how you can access and analyze your data and as a result experience the joys of improved decision making and business risk reduction.
Have a listen and find out how you can really start leveraging your data by analyzing it, with or without a fancy Business Intelligence solution.
Click on the player button above to listen to PSQL Radio. This audio requires the Flash plug-in, which you can download for free here.
You can also download the audio in MP3 format here. An archive of all of our audios can be found here.
Resource Focus: Welcome to Developer Heaven
Sometimes the life of a software developer can be a living hell. You're always under pressure, working hard to reach your deadlines, trying to get your code ready and tested in time, all the while coping with product requirement changes and additions as you go along. In this stressful environment the last thing you need is to lose even more of your precious time searching for the right vendor documentation, components or fixes – especially for older versions of products.
That's why Pervasive created a dedicated Developer Center Resource Map in the Developer Center to help you find and access critical information. Located in the "Additional Resources" section of the Developer Center, this easy to navigate overview page holds hyperlinks to all our developer resources such as:
- Online manuals
- Product information per version
- Knowledge Base and FAQ sheets
- Updates and Service Packs
- Development tools
No matter what version of PSQL you're running, you'll find the appropriate developer resources you need with just one click. Don't believe us? Visit the Developer Center Resource Map and try it yourself.
Bits & Bytes
- Getting to know you even better
The best emails are those that really matter to you. At Pervasive we're making continuous efforts to only provide you with the information that's relevant to you. But, in order to do so we need your help! You need to let us know what's important and of value to you and what types of messages you'd like to receive from us. That's why we ask you for only 5 minutes of your time to update or create your profile online.
Update or create your profile today and you might just win a portable GPS navigation device.
- Support your database
With the recently released updated PSQL support offerings you can now get the support flexibility you need. Along with per incident support Pervasive also offers a selection of pre-packaged support bundles to meet the needs of its partners and users. For those users with extra requirements or needs, Pervasive is also able to build custom support packages for both short term and long-term engagements.
To find out more about the new support offerings, visit the PSQL Support Portal.
- Differentiate yourself from the competition
Get PSQL v9 Certified and differentiate yourself from the competition. Let people know that you are a PSQL Certified Technician or Developer. Pervasive has updated the PSQL Certification exams with hundreds of questions and for a limited time only PSQL v9 certification is FREE! That's a $195 savings! Get PSQL v9 Certified today!
- Pervasive.SQL V8 nearing end of life
As off June 30, 2006, Pervasive.SQL V8 will no longer be available for purchase. Support for Pervasive.SQL V8 will still be available according to the standard Pervasive Support life cycle. To find our more about the latest version PSQL v9 – visit the PSQL v9 home page or download a trial version.
Daily back-up: 'Check'; Contingency plan: 'Well… err…no'
Most survey respondents are actively ensuring data availability and reliability through consistent backing up of data. When it comes to backup software, 38% of respondents use Veritas Backup Exec, 38% use "other" choices such as Norton Ghost, Tapeware, customized solutions, or Linux Server, and another 9% use CA BrightStor ARCserve. About 15% do not use backup software. Without sounding an alarm, the number not using backup software is higher than expected.
Many ensure that backups are completed at night, when users have (hopefully) exited systems. Another 8% use Pervasive Backup Agent – with its intelligent backup protection. Another 31% use "other" methods such as BUTIL, Winzip or Protocoll on Linux. And again, 15% do not have a specific backup procedure in place.
The vast majority of survey participants – at 82% – conduct daily backups. And 6% backup twice a day. These percentages show the serious emphasis placed on backup management, as well as maintaining data integrity and protection, within companies (big and small alike).
When it comes to contingency planning in case of system disaster, 36% of respondents do not have a plan – a worrisome number. Given the increased emphasis on reliable – if not real-time – data, this percentage is much higher than anticipated.
In case of an emergency, 55% of survey takers would be out of commission for at least a day, and 10% over one day. Again, these responses warrant concern. Downtime of this length not only affects productivity, but business revenue.
Interested in finding out how you can make reliable backups from your PSQL database? Visit the Pervasive Backup Agent Web page or download a free trial here. We also invite you to learn more about Pervasive DX Real Time Backup.
And remember – three randomly selected survey participants will receive a Pervasive shirt.
We hope you will take this month's survey on business intelligence.
Reporting and Data Analysis – Take the Readers' Survey
How do you or the people who use your application leverage the information that is in your database? This is the subject of this month's Readers' Survey.
More specifically, we want to dig down and find out how you meet your Reporting and Data Analysis needs. Do you stick with pre-built reports that are included in the application? Do you use third-party tools to do this? Do you export data to Excel so that you can look at it in different ways and looks for trends or other pieces of information?
As always, survey results will be published in next month's newsletter. Of course, your individual responses will be kept confidential. To show our appreciation for your time, this month all participants will receive a Pervasive lanyard, compliments of Pervasive Software.
To Add Pervasive Software to Your Safe Senders List
Due to spam filters differing, and that at times they filter legitimate email, it is highly recommended that you add Pervasive Software domain to your Safe Senders list in your email client. This will ensure that our email correspondence will get to you successfully.
For Outlook 2000 and higher
In your email from Pervasive Software:
1. Open the email from Pervasive Software
2. Click on the Actions menu on the top of your email window.
3. Choose Junk Email (see illustration below).
4. Select Add Senders Domain … to Safe Senders List to add Pervasive Software to your safe sender list.
Customer Quotes
Best database for small and medium companies, install it and forget about it.
Stern Software
It's a great company to work with and offers great customer support.
Intermountain Health Care
With experience of almost 20 years using Btrieve and Pervasive I can say: great company, great products.
Suomen Kassajarjestelmat OY
DevTalk Forum
The Pervasive DevTalk interactive forum exists to give users and Pervasive people a place to come together online to share knowledge and feedback on Pervasive products. You can access DevTalk by clicking here.
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