Need Help Deciding on a base SQL Database

[winningsince1337]

I have a very specific idea for a database to be used in small business medical offices, with specific needs and requirements. The reason I want to make this is because for this specific kind of office there are only 3 software options available, all of which with a completely lacking or over complicated feature set (mind you what's currently sold is ridiculously expensive) which I believe I can do better and sell for less.This is going to be a long term night/evening project of mine for the foreseeable future with the end goal of creating an end user database & GUI Client. However, I've been reading up on MySQL and Microsoft SQL to try and decide what platform I can develop on and then have to option to switch to a commercial license to sell the custom database and GUI client I have made in the future. Any input on whether to use MySQL, Microsoft SQL, or other base database software would be much appreciated.

 

Side note: As I college student I can use any version of Microsoft's SQL software for my personal uses for free courtesy of Dreamspark.

[madknight3]

I'm a little confused on what exactly you're product will be. Are you making a database management tool like Sql Server Management Studio or are you making an application that the general employees of the medical office will use, which like most applications stores information in a database?

[DEDRICK]

Sounds like he wants to create a program for employees and is wondering which backend database he should choose

[winningsince1337]

I'm a little confused on what exactly you're product will be. Are you making a database management tool like Sql Server Management Studio or are you making an application that the general employees of the medical office will use, which like most applications stores information in a database?

 

The latter. A program running off an SQL database for employees to use. Typical Use scenario: a local server containing the database and no more than 12 clients on the same local network accessing the database.

[madknight3]

The latter. A program running off an SQL database for employees to use. Typical Use scenario: a local server containing the database and no more than 12 clients on the same local network accessing the database.

 

What programming language are you planning to develop the application in?

[winningsince1337]

What programming language are you planning to develop the application in?

I know I want to use likely Microsoft SQL for the the back end. Other than that it's kinda up in the air. Maybe Visual Basic? Input would be appreciated 

 

EDIT: Really anything that's user friendly and has  the ability to make a scaleable UI that works for a variety of resolutions.

[madknight3]

I know I want to use likely Microsoft SQL for the the back end. Other than that it's kinda up in the air. Maybe Visual Basic? Input would be appreciated 

 

EDIT: Really anything that's user friendly and has  the ability to make a scaleable UI that works for a variety of resolutions.

 

What language(s) do you currently know best (C++, Python, Java, etc)?

What platform(s) are you targeting (Web, Windows, OS X, Android, iOS, etc)?

[rockking1379]

Share a file on the network. Use SQLite, only limitation is one writer at a time

[winningsince1337]

What language(s) do you currently know best (C++, Python, Java, etc)?

What platform(s) are you targeting (Web, Windows, OS X, Android, iOS, etc)?

I'm targeting Windows based machines. I've spend most of my time coding in the last year using Matlab, I know a bit of Java and Python too. However C++ is on the top of my list for languages to learn. Whatever would be best is what I'll use. I'll be taking classes to learn the language regardless as this is a long term project of mine.

[linuxfan66]

I'm targeting Windows based machines. I've spend most of my time coding in the last year using Matlab, I know a bit of Java and Python too. However C++ is on the top of my list for languages to learn. Whatever would be best is what I'll use. I'll be taking classes to learn the language regardless as this is a long term project of mine.

C# and MySQL or ms sql are both acceptable, visual studio integrates ms sql more. But the .net MySQL libraries are pretty good now and easier to setup and test in my opinion..

And basic can go die in deep dark hole. I used code in vb...now that lack semicolons makes determining end of lines unnecessarily painful

[madknight3]

I'm targeting Windows based machines. I've spend most of my time coding in the last year using Matlab, I know a bit of Java and Python too. However C++ is on the top of my list for languages to learn. Whatever would be best is what I'll use. I'll be taking classes to learn the language regardless as this is a long term project of mine.

 

The bottom line is you have a lot of options, both in terms of the programming language you can use and the database you can use, and there's no "best" option.

 

You could do a Java app with JavaFx.

You could do a Python app with Kivy.

You could do a C# app with WPF.

You could do a C++ app with Qt.

 

For a database you can choose a relational database like Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc or a NoSQL database like MongoDB, Redis, etc.

 

When interacting with the database you can choose to use a database mapper if you want. Relational mappers, like Hibernate ORM or Entity Framework, or NoSQL mappers like Hibernate OGM.

 

Note that there are more options than just what I'm listing so feel free to do your own research.

 

As I said, there's no "best" option. Your decisions will likely be based on project requirements, costs, and personal preferences.

 

For example, based on what I know best I might choose C#, WPF, SQL Server (as main database), SQLite (if local storage for a client is needed), and Entity Framework. Although if licensing costs are going to be a problem, then I would look at alternatives. Maybe Java/Scala with MySQL or PostgreSQL is where I'd move.