the $wpdb object is crazy powerful. with it, you can access almost anything in your database
this is extremely helpful when doing plugin development…
recently at work, i was tasked to do this project:
- create a wordpress plugin that requires a separate database table
- the table will house data imported from several excel files
- admin will be able to add/edit/delete entries
- create a template that will display the data, dropdowns will help filter information: date, location
- sort by date, then event name
$wpdb was used heavily in this plugin and it works well