At 06:35 2002-08-22 -0600, Cameron wrote: >... Have one customer that wants to >develop a huge database that will evetually be distributed on CD and online. >I am thinking using a regualr database now to build his project (Access or >something similar) and then migrating to Oracle or SQL server. I was >wondering if the database in StarOffice would be acceptable for this....
Hi Cameron, I was looking at OpenOffice.org (aka OO.o, the oSS version of StarOffice) for database operations, and became frustrated by the lack of documentation. All the docs I found were for the StarBasic in StarOffice V 5.2, but the whole database structure changed in V 6 (which is what OO.o corresponds to). I tried several things but could not make it work for what I wanted to do. I don't know if SO comes with current documentation, but reading between the lines of some newsgroup comments, I suspect not (yet). Also, SO/OO.o don't really 'incorporate' a database, they use whichever one you have, though I believe that SO comes with a version of ADABAS. It was really simple to view a MySQL table in OO.o (look for Help on 'Data source') , but I need to do more than that. Another thing: some people are saying that "SO/OO.o and a database can be the long-desired replacement for Microsoft's Access". Well, perhaps. It depends on what you were doing with Access. Access has three main functions: * a database (the infamous 'JET' engine, soon to be replaced by a better but resource-hogging DB built into the OS), * a nice form and report generator * "code behind forms" or the ability to add logic beyond what is possible using SQL only. SO/OO.o does not _include_ a database, but several good or excellent, even free, ones are available. SO/OO.o can automatically create forms, but they are not so easy to use, nor as flexible, as Access'. SO/OO.o will probably have an equivalent of 'code behind forms' but does not (apparently) have it really available yet. Because of the difficulties I encountered with OO.o and databases, I'm now exploring the use of Rekall, which is currently available for Linux, and in Beta Test for Windows. This looks like it can really be the Access replacement. Rekall does not _include_ a database, but uses MySQL, PostgreSQL or XBase (currently). It's not yet so easy to use as Access, but the end result is comparable. -- John Hall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Calgary, Alberta, Canada. "Helping People Prosper in the Information Age".
