Category

sql

02.21.10

Is a flat text file or a database right for an app? CAR, data visualizations, processing, sql | (0)
I've been busily coding away on my final project for my data visualization independent study. I'm looking at data that I've been slowly acquiring on the life of art galleries that were in Chicago in 1990. Back then, the Chicago Artists' Coalition had a complete listing in a pamphlet (more like a book) they put out for artists. It included galleries within the city, in the metro Chicago area, and even downstate. I'm choosing to focus on ones that were within Chicago's city limits in 1990, and I'm looking into what happened to them. Ideally, the visualization will use the ...
01.20.10

How to “Group By” in Excel CAR, excel, sql | (0)
Random time-saving Excel tip. Want to condense a long column to only display unique entries? Go to the Data menu, select Filter and Advanced Filter. Voila, a check box labeled "Unique records only". Don't know why I never noticed this before. Or, you know, you could use Group By in SQL. But no need to import databases just for filtering.
01.18.10

Collaborating with computers to parse “big data” CAR, sql, theory, web | (0)
Picture it: You've been given a new story assignment, and you have to leave for the interview in five minutes. You've got to have enough background to ask the right questions, but there's no time to do research. Somehow pulling that all-nighter on an English term paper in college seems like a cakewalk. Luckily, you're a seasoned journalist (where I hope to be in 10 years), and you're used to figuring it out fast. Enter the new reporter. He can come up with millions of questions in a millisecond, and assimilate information ten times faster than that. He ...