Hi Authors
Marko Moeller wrote:
Hi Iain, [EMAIL PROTECTED] schrieb:
[...]
The problem for me that OOo itself isn't clear on the terminology, so I don't know how you and I can be. For example, on the first screen of the create database wizard, OOo gives the option of connecting to an external "database" which could be a spreadsheet or text file. Seems to me that "Data Source" would be more consistent there.
ACK! This is my problem too! If you try to translate a content from one language to another (here english-german) you have to analyze every meaning of a word in its context.
In my opinion (and that is the german meaning 'Datenquelle') a datasource is not the same as a database!
It is more than that, it is a source/pool of data, and could come from a flat text (with or without seperator), tables in text or in formats like tables in calc or excel, from a table in a database (!) and so on.
Thats why (in my opinion) a table an its content (!) of a database could be an datasource but not every datasource must be a database!
[...]
I'm sorry about this terminology inconsistency. It is one of those thorns in my side. I also have an issue to make the terms consistent, but do not think it will happen for OOo 2.0----the main reason being, that I have conflicting feedback about what is best for the users. Maybe you can give me your opinions.
Let me explain the history...
Originally the only term we had in OOo/SO was "database". Then we introduced new functionality that meant that the source didn't have to be a database but could also be a spreadsheet or a page off the Web, etc. The term we used became "data source" and the developers and I were happy that it was technically the correct term. (Because, as Marko agrees, "data source" is the more general term and includes databases.)
BUT then OOo/SO got bad press from the media and frustrated user feedback because many journalists/users did not know what "data source" meant. I was forced to change the term in key locations back to "database" so that average users would recognize the term.
That is why we now have the inconsistency. Average users really don't care if the term is technically correct. They just want to get the job done and not have to think. If a word is new to them, chances are they don't say, "Oh that's something new. Let me figure it out." but rather "huh? Where's the xxx I was expecting? This software does not speak my language."
If you do a Google search you'll find about 2 million results in which "database" and "data source" are used in conjunction. One example I grabbed quick is
http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_18337
So, it appears that not only OOo/SO has this naming problem. It seems like a period of dual usage is necessary to educate users.
Perhaps there are more key places that should be changed back to database? Perhaps there are lower-level strings that should use data source rather than database?
Thanks for your help, Elizabeth
