Feature request: Custom SQL queries (Read 719 times)

The site is great!!! This may be asking too much but as a SQL programmer I would absolutely LOVE to be able to create my own SQL queries for creating reports. Of course then we'd need a way to see the table names, column names, etc. so we'd know how to construct the queries.

Table scans. Mandatory of course.

The site is great!!! This may be asking too much but as a SQL programmer I would absolutely LOVE to be able to create my own SQL queries for creating reports. Of course then we'd need a way to see the table names, column names, etc. so we'd know how to construct the queries.

Since you're a SQL programmer, you should know the answer is an emphatic NO! What's wrong with using the search page? Aside from not being able to search the notes, which I will fix soon, you can search for anything with it. If that's not enough, you can download all your data so you can manipulate it however you like.

Yeah ... this request is probably from a hardware salesman/web hosting firm. Step 1: Create query to bring server to its knees Step 2: Call Eric offering a hardware/hosting package upgrade.

Sorry you felt beat up. I would point out that you can export your data easily (under Training Log -> Tools) and then query all you want. I do this.

WOW - I can't believe how much animosity this request invoked. I have worked on various software systems which allowed end users to write their own SQL queries and with a few safeguards on the way it's allowed in the GUI and how it's handled on the back end (such as only allowing a user to query against their own data, etc. ) we never had a performance or security/privacy problem.

Imanna, There was no animosity on my part. As we all know, no matter how much you harden the servers, they will always be vulnerable to attacks as long as they're connected to the internet. Security through obscurity is one way to reduce risk. By limiting the attacker's knowledge of the system, it makes the hacker's job harder to penetrate the system. Allowing users to access the database introduces too much risk. You can never be confident that your safeguards are 100% effective. Even with the resources afforded by Microsoft, hackers continue to find security holes. I do not know of the software systems you worked on, or their targeted audience. If they are publicly accessible websites with live data, then you're a better programmer than me. I've worked long enough in the security industry to know that there is no 100% security. Many users have entrusted me to keep their data safe, and I don't think exposing the database is a wise thing to do. eric :-)