Hi

I am a quite newbie debian user and I want to learn database programming.

What is the best option? MySQL?

yeah, i'd say so. pretty user friendly and close to the SQL standards

mysql is also open source...but if you are looking for something that will look better on a resume, check into Oracle...actually I dont even know if an oracle DB can run on linux, worth looking into though

Oracle runs on Linux, but it's really expensive. If you're not doing something very Oracle-specific, PostgreSQL can be used instead. Or MySQL if there's no need for stored procedures.

Linux is officially Oracle's preferred development platform,
so yes, it DOES work on Linux ;)

[edit]
If the original poster is after OpenSource I'd strongly
suggest PostgreSQL, it may not be quite as fast as
MySQL in everyday life, but it outweighs it in features...
and in GIS databases Postgres outperforms Oracle ;)
[/edit]


Cheers,
Tink

Try out MySQL 5.0 alpha. The documentation is good and there are even procedures and triggers.
Hope it helps u

Sqlite is a tiny but fully functional database that I found perfect for learning SQL on Linux or Windows. Since it's a single user db for local access, there's no administration to need to learn when you just want to get started issuing commands. You'll find everything you need in the Debian repository including language bindings.

It has an interactive interpreter similar to mysql's or postgres's.

Your choice amongst the other two might be governed by the language you use. Python is traditionally associated Postgres, PHP with MySQL.

Actually you can get personal Oracle to install on Linux free of charge although you have to register. It is also a pain to install on Windows and I suspect it is the same on Linux and is a big download.
However you would have to pay to use Oracle forms.

Yes, but the license says you can use it only for a prototype and so on (I've read it once). I think it's not good to use a product with such licence as first database. Others will be better. And the installation is ...hmmm... interesting experience.

I agree with Mara ... and trying to install Oracle on
something other than DeadRat or SuSE is a pain in
the neck (not that I find it easy on the certified ones).

Postgres all the way - yeah baby! :)



Cheers,
Tink

*the only thing you need to know to get started is your "SQL" not proprietary or sql specific to oracle or another database sql extensions, but GENERIC SQL.
*when you know SQL then you choose a database be it mysql, postgresql , hsqldb, instantdb, etc...
*when you know the differences between databases, in terms of performance, features, tools , then you choose the one which is most suited.

you might also want to learn a programming language to interact with the database if you don't want to edit manually or with a gui tables values.

Exactly.

And another reason why big, complicated databases like Oracle are not such a good choice for learning is that you'll spend too much time learning Oracle administration when all you wanted to do is learn some SQL.

Like mrcheeks and others in this thread have said, start with the generic. That way you'll know what you can do with the standard.

For a language I suggest Python. It had the best combination of intuitiveness, maturity, range of uses, and excellent documentation.

Thank you my brothers!

I agree with Malc about SQLite. It's fast, takes little disc space, and is self-contained (no server with attendant administration problems). It's a subset of PostgreSQL, meaning all the SQL command are pretty standard. If you start with sqlite and decide you need more features, it's very easy to move up to PostgreSQL--just export your tables as text files and use pgsql's COPY function.