Introduction

I have been writing code of one variety or another for the past 30+ years.  Ninety percent of my knowledge is self taught, often because I had a problem that had to be solved.

I would consider myself an expert when it comes to SQL based languages.  I started playing with DBase 3 in college and have progressed through MS Access and Excel to Oracle, SQL Server and MySQL.  There isn't much I can't make a relational database do and I know where the tricks and traps are in all of the products I listed.

My latest project involves creating a desktop task management application using Java and MySQL.  Other systems exist, but I have particular tastes and had been using a custom built MS Access application for several years.  But being tied to a licensed product has it's drawbacks, so I decided to start on an open-source based replacement.  Enter MySQL and the Netbeans IDE.

Since my skills are heavy on the database side, the data model is complete and robust.  Unfortunately, the Java side is progressing much more slowly.

Since nearly all my free coding time is spent on this application, the focus of most of my posts will be on the problems and solutions I've found.

I hope you check back often and comment.  I could certainly use the help.

One final note.  One of my favorite projects and my first professional "database" application was built using the mail merge functionality in WordPerfect 5.1.  I used it to manage the trouble tickets that my division handled.  The entire thing was stored on a 3.5HD floppy.  Although it was crude, it saved me time and the reports I created impressed my bosses at the time.