Everything you need to know about SQL – in simple terms!

SQL is an acronym that you’ll find thrown about any digital or tech agency and can be a topic of some difficulty – especially for people who aren’t exactly tech-savvy. Sadly, for those who operate a website on larger scale – especially those centered on e-commerce – then SQL may be the saving grace your growing website needs to remain fluidly operational.

Here we’ll provide you with an overall view of SQL, how it can help your business and the contingencies in place if things go wrong. We’ll try to keep the technical language down to a minimum!

Before we start – what is a database?

Before diving into the wide world of SQL, we need to know what a database is.

The dictionary defines a database as ‘a structured set of data held in a computer, especially one that is accessible in various ways’. Essentially, it’s a place where you can easily access and change datasets, providing you information on your customers – or staff – quickly and efficiently.

Imagine having a library of books, but instead of the titles being unique you simply name them Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, etc. Now, nobody would ever do that because as your library grows, it becomes more and more difficult to find that favourite novel of yours. Was it Book 77? Could it be Book 4532? This becomes a very inefficient system – one that’s going to cost time and money when applied to the data your business stores.

SQL is a language developed by various tech giants to allow your computer to read and categorize the information held on your website. It’s read and manipulated by specialized tools such as MySQL – one of the most advanced data management tools on the market. SQL allows your blog to categorize posts; to organize your galleries – it’s an absolute necessity nowadays for big business.

Sure – but what’s MySQL?

You know how there are three main varieties of GUI (graphical user interface) for computers – Windows, MacOS and Linux. Well, MySQL is one of the leading programs that can read SQL. Here you’ll be able to visualize all the data you hold on your customers or clients. It’s a freely available RDBMS (Relational Database Management System), which sounds a lot more complicated than it truly is. It just means it’ll split your information into tables, fields, rows and columns, as opposed to just lumping a load of information on the screen. Basically, it’s a clean-cut version of Excel, where you don’t have to create the tables yourself.

But is MySQL secure?

Of course, like many programs, MySQL has the potential to corrupt information held on any of your systems. Fortunately, SQL database restoration is widely available with a number of specialist tools, and so, if you’re concerned about whether SQL is safe, you shouldn’t be. Most programs are built with a contingency in mind, and MySQL is no different.

SQL is essentially an advanced database language which is interpreted with programs such as MySQL. If you’re looking for a way to categorize and demonstrate information quickly and simply, you’ll be one step closer to doing so.

4 Common Software Development Mistakes that People Keep Committing

Depending on your source, between a third and three-quarter of software development projects fail. These failures range from projects that spend forever in development before being abandoned to brand new software releases tarnished by bugs that shouldn’t have made it out of development. Here are four common software development mistakes people keep committing, as well as advice on how to avoid them from hurting your project.

Assuming Software Development Is Easy

If software development was easy, we wouldn’t pay software developers, coders, and project managers this much. If software development was easy, we wouldn’t have tools like Doors specifically for managing software project requirements and multiple suites for managing code libraries as they are changed. You wouldn’t see software development raised to its own, unique discipline exemplified in the online masters in software development the same way international business and big data analysis are worthy of their own MBA programs. The online MSSD degree by Maryville University is unusual for specializing in software development, but it builds on the IT management MBAs that are becoming commonplace as a whole host of IT development standards, laws, and liability rules are applied to IT projects.

Anyone Can Manage a Software Development Project

One common mistake in software development is to put the senior developer in charge of the project. This is akin to asking your best surgeon to head the hospital. Just because they are an expert in their field doesn’t mean they are qualified to manage other experts. And adding management to their list of tasks takes your best talent away from the work that needs to be done. The better solution is bringing in experts in software development project management. You want someone who is familiar with managing technical people and implementing the controlled, structured approach that maximizes the odds of a successful software development project.

We Can Add These Little Changes before We’re Done

It is the rush to add a few more things to the software release that kills far too many projects, by taking time away from the testing and debugging of the major software changes and implementing changes without the proper resources to prevent problems with these additions.

Another variation of this problem is failing to define the user’s needs properly, so the solutions implemented get changed at the last minute, regardless of the risk.

Poor Resource Management

Software development projects regularly fail because of poor resource management. One example of this is assuming that your IT department, already fully loaded with software support, can develop software patches or new products without cutting something, somewhere. Another problem is the tendency to only add team members after the project is behind schedule instead of assigning them at the start.

Conclusion

Software development isn’t easy, which is why professionals are well paid and so many software tools exist for niches like requirements management. There is a bad habit of adding on extra “little” functions that either slow down the project or take away from the appropriate testing to ensure success. Too many managers assume that anyone can manage a software project and that it can be done by your existing team with the headcount and resources they already have.

A Look at the Traits of Successful Project Managers

Whether running a blog, a marketing campaign, or a business, project management is one of the skills that you will need to nail in order to be successful.  Once your project or business reaches a certain size, it will no longer be possible to do everything yourself, and so you will need to delegate effectively in order to maintain it.

According to the online MSMPP program of Brandeis University, successful project managers share a number of common traits.  Among these are the ability to communicate clearly, the ability to delegate effectively, the ability to be politically sensitive, and the ability to mobilize workers.  Good project managers also tend to have high self esteem and a lot of enthusiasm for the project they are working on.

You can find out more about successful project management from the infographic below.

The Many Tasks of an Efficient Project Manager

Brandeis University M.S. in Project and Program Management Online

This infographic was created by http://projectmgmt.brandeis.edu/.
Creativejasmin.com

Suffering from Keyword Shotgun Syndrome?

Faced with the prospect of search engines passing over their website in favour of competitors, it is common for companies to target keywords, in completely the wrong way. Rather than have a strategy and understanding of how search engines rank websites, many website are, instead, littered with keywords. There is more to search engine optimisation than the volume of keywords. Here is how keyword use can go terribly wrong and how to fix your website.

Keyword Overdose

As the thinking often goes, if keywords are important, then it must be a good idea to fill the website with as many keywords as possible. A quick peek at the source code for many websites reveals this is a common strategy. Lists of keywords are stuffed into the code, in some cases as much of a page of keywords on a single page of a website.

Unfortunately for these websites, search engines like Google do not subscribe to the belief that more is more. Packing larger number of keywords into the html will actually count against your website by the search engine bots that visit it. Not only do the search engines view keyword stuff negatively, even if they didn’t by listing so many keywords, the website loses all focus on any specific word. This muddled message means that bots visiting your site may not even be about to figure out who your website was supposed to be aimed toward.

Shhh…Secret Keywords

It is far too easy for us to get used to using our own terms for products and services. Those often don’t translate well to the general public. Are your potential customers searching for your product by name? You may have built a better mousetrap but that doesn’t guarantee customers finding their way to your door. If people are searching for “mousetrap” they are unlikely to find your product if you’re listing it as the “Super Gotcha 3000!” While that might seem like a far-fetched example, it is actually quite easy for companies to lose sight of what most people would call their products or services. Even putting words in a unexpected order can throw off your search engine rankings. Consider how a mention of “mouse catcher” would be more likely to found during a web search that the “Mouse Super Catcher” your company is trying to promote.

Take a close look at your website to see if you are using industry terminology rather than the types of words and phrases customers are likely to use. Your “pest extermination” product might be overlooked because people are searching for “bug killer” or “pest control.” This is why it is critical to find out what search terms are being used for your type of product or service so that you can target the right words and phrases.

Giant Keywords, No Focus

Even websites that have tried to focus their keywords, often go astray. A common issue is using words that are too broad to attract the right target market. Even after doing research on how often various keywords are used, may sites go astray. Perhaps they are enticed by the enormous number of searches for common words and want to attract that whole market. Typically, this is a bad idea. There are probably huge numbers of people typing a search for “animals” into a search engine. However, very few of them would be looking for anything related to controlling mice. Due to the larger number of websites using “animals” as a keyword, your site has very little chance of moving to the top of the search engine rankings for that word. Meanwhile, you could be using more specific words in your site to attract those who are actually interesting in your product. While “catch a mouse” would have a much lower number of searches that “animal,” you’d be much more likely to attract your target market.

Practical Online Trading and Investment Tips for Beginners

In the latest news headlines in the real estate investment market, a group of property investors from New York has adopted a new approach to raising investment capital through the internet. The REIT is a group of investors classified as blind pool investors due to the fact that they do not own any physical assets at the moment. The idea is to leverage the experience, skills and knowledge of its members in order to convince online investors to contribute funds that will later be used as capital to buy houses and property within the New York area. The trust which was set up earlier this month hopes to raise at least $50 million to be used in investments within the city.

As modern information technology continues to spread, more and more people are starting to harness its power in order to do business and make profit. Gone are the days when every business transaction had to be drawn out in ink and paper. Today, most transactions are carried out online thanks to the evolution and growth of the internet. The latest online fund raising for real estate investment by the REIT is a clear sign that things are about to undergo major changes within the world of real estate investing and that the internet will play a big role here in the coming years.

Online Trading Versus Online Investment

You probably know or have heard of people who made serious fortunes by investing or trading online. While the manner in which both re conducted online may be relatively new, the ideas and principles behind them are still the same as they were in traditional trading and investment. However, it is worth pointing out that online trading and online investment are not one and the same thing. Online trading, simply defined, refers to trade carried out over the internet. The trade could be in anything from physical commodities, to stocks, bonds, derivatives and other intangible assets. Most people associate online trading with online Forex trading which is defined as trade in different currencies. One of the key benefits of online trading is that transactions are initiated and completed within a matter of seconds without the need for any physical contact between the parties involved.

Online investment, like online trading, also takes a couple of seconds to complete over the internet. But here is the difference between online investing and trading. Online investment usually involves significant financial input from the investors and any mistakes made have the potential to result in overwhelming losses. So even though the transactions can be done in seconds, days or even months of careful analysis and research must be committed to identifying the right products in which to invest.

How to Limit Losses When Trading and Investing Online

The fact that you can make transactions worth millions of dollars online in a matter of seconds also means that you can lose millions of dollars in seconds when you trade or invest online. Avoiding such loss is of paramount importance and below are some tips that can help you do so:

  • Understand the products and your investment risks; always make sure you research adequately on each product before you commit to it. Review past trends to see how the product has been performing on the market as that will tell you how it is likely to perform in the future. Investment companies such as CMC Markets carry out regular research into various investment products and would be a good source of information on the same. As they can be more involved in online investment, forex trading than in dealing with physical assets and that is the kind of place you want to go for advice as an online investor.
  • Take active steps to safeguard against technical hitches; a disconnected modem, a restart of your computer or temporary loss of internet connection are all simple problems that can result in heavy financial losses for people who trade or invest online. Market prices usually change in a matter of seconds and delays such as the ones mentioned above could lock you out of lucrative windows or expose you to merciless ones.
  • Set your price limits; if you trade in fast moving products such as forex or derivatives then limit orders can reduce your risk exposure. A limit order is a special condition that instructs the software you’re using to trade to offload your product once certain conditions have been met. For instance, if you are a Forex trader then you can create a limit order that automatically sells your chosen currency when its market price hits a certain value.

How to choose topic for your dissertation

What is the process of selecting the best subject matter for the thesis? How can you choose the one you will love working on?

Read on to find out all the answers.

Crafting a dissertation is not an easy task. The thing is that you will have to spend hours working on the single paper. So, not to hate it in the end or give up in the middle, you should choose a good topic on which you will enjoy working.
Even though it does not sound complicated, choosing the subject matter is not easy. It takes time and effort to pick the one you can actually enjoy working on. But after you read our article you will see the best ways to choose a proper subject. So, keep reading and do not lose focus. You can receive dissertation help here assignment baron .

How to pick the best topic for your thesis?

1. Do not wait for inspiration.
Before we introduce you to other methods, we just want to remind you that good topic does not come from some mystical inspiration. In fact, if you decide on a topic without proper research, you are more likely to get frustrated and feel like quitting what they are doing at the moment. So, do not just choose a subject matter randomly, but after you think of a topic, you want to work on consider studying it and checking out other works by fellow students on the neighboring themes. Dedicate some tie to check out what you are about to sign on for.

2. Study the available literature.
You know an exact area of study you will work in, so the only problem now is to figure out one particular theme. It should not be too broad or too narrow, so checking out what works have been already written before can help you figure out what your choice should fall on. However, when going through trustworthy sources make sure to pay attention to the following detail: the topic of your choice should not be studied from different sides already. There must be the room for your research too.

3. Talk to the tutors.
Let’s face it: people working on your faculty have been in this area much longer than you have. So instead of trying to solve this problem all by yourself, consider using their help and engage their experience in the process. Of course, the decision is all yours, but they might help to guide you to the ultimate goal. So, why wasting such a chance?

4. Organize your thoughts.
Grab a pen and a notebook to organize all your ideas and see how well you realize the topic you chose. It will help you understand whether you have enough background knowledge to talk about this matter which is very important for dissertations.
Once you go through all these stages, you will be able to make your decision on the dissertation topic. It’s a no-brainer, so not worry. But do not rush into anything and spend enough time to make up your mind on the subject matter.

Movavi Video Editor for Mac Review

Video creators have always had a special regard for Macs – and with good reason. In terms of power and reliability Macs regularly exceed expectations, making them a great machine on which to edit and create videos.

Of course if you want to use your Mac for that same reason you’ll need a video editor, and one of the best to get started on is Movavi Video Editor for Mac. Unlike other editors it is designed to be intuitive, so you don’t need to have any prior experience in video editing to use it.

Even if you’re a complete beginner you will be able to quickly familiarize yourself with Movavi Video Editor for Mac and start to apply its features. Its modern and clean design will ensure that all the features you need are just a few clicks away and neatly categorized in easily-understood tabs.

To be entirely honest many parts of Movavi Video Editor for Mac will feel natural as you start to use it – due to its familiar controls. In most cases you will simply have to adjust sliders, drag and drop elements, or select elements to edit your videos.

As much as it is designed to be easy to use, Movavi Video Editor for Mac won’t disappoint in terms of features either. It can go head to head with pretty much any editor out there, and has features that will let you:

  • Split your videos into segments and trim out any unnecessary parts.
  • Merge clips together and arrange the sequence in which they appear.
  • Place stylish animated transitions and fades between segments to link them together seamlessly.
  • Improve the quality of your videos manually or automatically and fix common issues such as shaky, blurry or interlaced video segments.
  • Apply a variety of special effects and filters to transform the visual appearance of your videos and stylize them.
  • Include background music by selecting a built-in track or using one of your own audio files.
  • Record a voiceover narration using a microphone to accompany your video.
  • Add captions and other text elements that can be animated.

Having so many options, it is understandable if you feel a bit spoilt for choice at first. Honestly though all you need to do is spend a few minutes experimenting with the features that are available in Movavi Video Editor for Mac and it won’t take long to figure out how they work.

Play Online Roulette For Real Money

Roulette is the most recognizable game for real money in the casino. There is no need to dress up in a tuxedo to make a few bets on black, as before. To play roulette for money in the 21st century you can play online in many online casinos. But you need to carefully consider the choice of the online casino, where the main criteria are: license, user-friendly software, and fast withdrawals. Also, pay attention to the American or European roulette with live dealers. Live tables have more confidence and much more exciting to play. And most importantly, do not risk large sums for yourself!

How to format and install Windows 7

Formatting a computer is not an easy process, but it may be necessary. Many users suffer from slow navigation because of several spy programs, viruses, and bad configurations. Before you begin this process, you should know that formatting your computer means losing all the files you have on your hard drive, all your photos, programs, and documents. If you are ready to perform a thorough cleaning and have to reinstall Windows 7, the first thing to do is to make a copy of Windows 7.