How to Install MySQL on Mac OS X

The process to install MySQL on Mac OS X is a pretty straight forward process. MySQL is one of the most popular open source databases. It is used in a wide variety of applications. Download MySQL Installer First you will need to download the DMG archive from http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/ Install MySQL from the downloaded DMG archive as you would normally a typical application. Additional Configuration For maximum compatibility you should create a symbolic link to where MySQL places the socket....

July 31, 2015

SQLite for Data Analysis

Before I started using a Mac as my main computer, I would often find myself using Microsoft Access to do some data analysis for a one-off project. Now that I’m using a Mac, I needed to find a tool to do what I used to do with Microsoft Access. In my search I came across SQLite. SQLite is an excellent lightweight database that is extremely fast and a great tool for a data analyst....

May 8, 2015
Warcraft III"

Install Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne on Mac OS X Yosemite

March 2016 Update Warcraft 3 patch 1.27 added native support for Mac OS X El Capitan. From the patch notes: Throw away that old PowerPC Mac in the closet, we’ve created a new installer to support Mac 10.10 and 10.11 The new Warcraft 3 update is at https://www.blizzard.com/en-us/download/?platform=macos Warcraft 3 Mac OS X Install Guide Here are the steps to install Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne on Mac OS X Yosemite....

December 6, 2014
Star Schema Dimensional Model

Dimension Table: 7 Best Practices

A dimension table is one of the 2 primary building blocks of a dimensional data model. The other primary type of table is the fact table. This post will describe 7 best practices for designing a dimension table. What is the purpose of a Dimension Table A dimension table is the primary way to filter and group results from a fact table. A fact table is almost useless by itself, as you need to give some descriptive attributes to provide context to the data....

May 6, 2014

The Challenge of Dashboard BI Projects

If the goal of your business intelligence project is to deliver a dashboard, you should have warning bells going off in your head. What is a Dashboard An easy to read graphical presentation of the current status and historical trends of an organization’s key performance indicators (KPIs) to enable instantaneous and informed decisions to be made at a glance. Business Processes and KPIs The key performance indicators (KPIs) of your dashboard will result from multiple business processes....

February 12, 2013