Excel possesses formidable database powers. Creating a relational database starts with a Master table that links it to subordinates, called (awkwardly) Slave, Child, or Detail tables. Before we dive ...

Excel used to be the poor schmuck’s database, with spreadsheets that just sort of sat there. You could create something more sophisticated with LOOKUP functions, but they were a huge hassle to set up.

Relational tables often describe more than one type of real world entity. In this tip, Bob Watkins covers some things to think about when designing such tables. In an earlier tip, I showed a way to ...

Good software habits apply to databases too. Trust in these little design tips to build a useful, rot-resistant database schema. It is a universal truth that everything in software eventually rots.

A relational database is a set of formally described tables from which data can be accessed or reassembled in many different ways without having to reorganize the database tables. The standard user ...

Designing an appropriate set of indexes can be one of the more troubling aspects of developing efficient relational database applications. Perhaps, the most important thing you can do to assure ...

Here's how you can use SQL Server's OpenJson function to dismantle JSON structures into relational tables targeting either transactional systems or data warehouses. JSON is great for moving data ...

Airtable is an online platform for creating, using, and sharing small relational databases. It’s not ready for enterprise users yet (that’s coming), but right now, if you want help managing data for ...