I wouldn't bother reading his other books then. People keep buying me Robert Sawyer books as presents as I think the Galaxy bookshop (Sydney's big SF shop) recommends him if you like hard SF. I wish they wouldn't. I agree with the comments about his characters and his Canadian inferiority complex is just plain annoying.
Maybe fans of Michael Crichton's characterisation will appreciate Sawyer's works.
I setup a backend database using MySQL at my old office and used MS Access through ODBC as a client, as well as using the console client and Perl. I used "linked tables" to reference the MySQL tables from Access. This worked well, although some datatypes were incompatable. Must say I preferred the MySQL datatypes to Access'. Unfortunately Access 2000 seemed to have more incompatabilities.
For databases involving complex queries I'm not sure I would go with MySQL based upon my experiences. However, the ability to use text based clients and Perl was wonderful because it meant I didn't have to waste time with umpteen mouse clicks.
I also tried PostgreSQL but it was unable to transfer large quantities of data via ODBC.
Now that I've gone I think the company is looking to purchase SQL Server. At least my new employer is Linux friendly!
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A clothing camera was described by science fiction author George Turner in his 1991 novel Brain Child.
I wouldn't bother reading his other books then. People keep buying me Robert Sawyer books as presents as I think the Galaxy bookshop (Sydney's big SF shop) recommends him if you like hard SF. I wish they wouldn't. I agree with the comments about his characters and his Canadian inferiority complex is just plain annoying.
Maybe fans of Michael Crichton's characterisation will appreciate Sawyer's works.
I setup a backend database using MySQL at my old office and used MS Access through ODBC as a client, as well as using the console client and Perl. I used "linked tables" to reference the MySQL tables from Access. This worked well, although some datatypes were incompatable. Must say I preferred the MySQL datatypes to Access'. Unfortunately Access 2000 seemed to have more incompatabilities. For databases involving complex queries I'm not sure I would go with MySQL based upon my experiences. However, the ability to use text based clients and Perl was wonderful because it meant I didn't have to waste time with umpteen mouse clicks. I also tried PostgreSQL but it was unable to transfer large quantities of data via ODBC. Now that I've gone I think the company is looking to purchase SQL Server. At least my new employer is Linux friendly!