Re: A good client

In terms of really good GUI clients we are now at a stage where we are
spoilt for choice.
There is PgAdmin, both III and the new Beta are excellent.
Aquafold Data Studio is also nice.
I use SQLManager Postgresql Manager from sqlmanager.net all the time.
PGLightning is also very good.
I actually prefer phpPgAdmin to the Mysql phpMyAdmin.
And the improvements in the ODBC driver mean that linking your tables
into an access Database makes Access a very capable interface to the
Database as well, although it should be said that Access is not so much
a Database management client so much as a very capable application front
end.

What we are missing - and this is true really for all the Database
severs with the exception perhaps of Oracle (which has Oracle
Applications) is a decent competing RAD for developing custom database
front end applications such as forms and integration into an office
Suite. We have Access, which is very good wit Postgresql, but it would
be nice if there were other viable choices.

Of course there many application development interfaces to Postgresql,
and in terms of the Languages and environments available, developers
building applications against a Postgresql Database are especially
spoilt for choice. Web based front ends work very well. But none of
these are in the same niche as Access - which does allow quite complex
apps to be built in a time frame that makes it attractive and affordable
for small and medium businesses to consider developing their own custom
solution.

With some add on tools Delphi comes close, but it is still nowhere near
as quick as Access to build a bunch of forms , pump data into
spreadsheets, charts, word processing applications. It is often little
things that make the difference - the speed with which drop down lists
can be created is a huge boon to an access developer when the business
needs an app that really does speed the workflow of their transactional
staff.

I really believe that Postgresql could become Ubiquitous as the
Small/Medium business database of choice, because these business's
really do have more complex data requirements than can be seviced by
Mysql, and they do find SQL Server expensive. In addition many would
like to have the option of selling their custom application, so a BSD
license s atractive. There are already some great apps that are
postgresql based that provide a good case for ditching exchange and SQL
Server - DBmail, Open Groupware, at least two OSS CRM solutions, Bizgres
and Open Accounting.

Access is a good partner for Postgresql, but Microsoft will always be
motivated to use Access to drive SQL Server sales, so a OSS competitor
in that very particular, but also very large, Niche occupied by Access,
and to a degree - Filemaker and Paradox - is to be wished for.
Unfortunately, so far the candidates I have tried, rekall, Kexi,
OpenOffice Base - have all been disapointing when compared even to
Access 97 let alone Access 2000 and beyond.

Cheers
Johan

Wim Bertels wrote:
> Dear friends,
>
> i've been using postgresql quiet some time now,
> but i don't find any really good clients for "dummies" to this database.
> When i look at pgadmin:
> an anoying feature: it closes when u do something illegal, instead of
> saying: u don't have the rights to do this.
> When i look at phpgpadmin (phpmyadmin is much better from a usability
> point of view),
> why wasn't this layout/structure followed, or at least a better one.
>
> To me the best client is: psql ,
> but i makes it kind of difficult to convince the "dummies" from using
> access and/or mysql
>
> suggestions to good clients?
>
> tnx,
>
>
>
>
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