[ Sorry, I'm jumping into the middle of a thread here. I don't have the
original message to reply to. ]
Mariano,
As a frustrated beginner with Base, I've been eagerly awaiting a draft
of your tutorial. Now that it's here, I can say it was definitely worth
the wait: you've done a great job organizing the material and explaining
complex material very clearly. That's a big challenge, but you really
nailed it, I think. This should be a huge help to people who need to get
started doing actual work with Base.
As I've read through, I've noticed a few typos and run into some
questions, so I started collecting them. I was going to go all the way
through, but this is long enough already and I want to try to coordinate
with Drew and anyone else who's proofing.
I'm not necessarily looking for a response, but if there's any
follow-up, we can use the list, or just email me directly.
p20
... whether in one filed or in multiple columns.
... whether in one _field_ or in multiple columns.
p21
... Teacher ID and Project Name _conform_ the compound primary key...
Maybe "form"?
Lets _re-sate_ this in formal parlance:
Lets _re-state_ this in formal parlance:
p35
... they are assigned to a _therapists_ ...
... they are assigned to a _therapist_ ...
p36
We can imagine that a patient and a _therapists_ ...
We can imagine that a patient and a _therapist_ ...
p42
Seems to use inconsistent terminology, sometimes referring to the people
being treated at the clinic as "patients" and other times as "clients".
For example,
What is the situation with the medication? We already know that
one _client_ would be using... medications (0..n) while several
medications could be being used by several _patients_ at the same
time (n..m).
In the same vein, the intermediate table is labeled "Client/Medication"
on p42, and "Patient/Medication" on p44.
p50
... Amount _Payed_ ...
... Amount _Paid_ ...
p58
We will see how all these _is_ done!
We will see how all these _are_ done!
p71
Now is time to turn on the computer.
Now is _the_ time to turn on the computer. (?)
p72
You can also copy and paste these instructions from the link:
http://documentation.openoffice.org/servlets/ProjectDocumentList?folderID=778.
The period at the end of the URL will cause problems if the user is not
savvy or careful enough to avoid selecting it. That seems a little
user-unfriendly to me, especially since there are other ways to present
the URL that make it easier for the user to access the link.
Chapter 7:
You use several terms throughout the text to refer to SQL code:
"command," "statement," and "instruction." I found this to be a little
distracting, even though I know they all refer to the same thing.
p76
... its omission is bound _the_ create confusion.
... its omission is bound _to_ create confusion.
p77
... a known set of column attributes, most of _the_ which have been
described...
... a known set of column attributes, most of which have been described...
This is great help to ensure data integrity.
This is _a_ great help to ensure data integrity.
p81
Note the _coma_ before the ellipsis. This reminds you ... with _comas_.
Note the _comma_ before the ellipsis. This reminds you ... with _commas_.
-- and so throughout the document.
p88
Most of the text boxes are of the same length except for two, the one
after ID Number and Date of Birth.
I don't see a "Date of Birth" field at this point--the "Psychiatrist"
table (instructions on p86) does not contain that field.
p96
I got completely lost trying to get the list box configured, mostly due
to my impatience and not following your directions carefully. The larger
issue is that, if the reader does get lost, there is no easy way to a)
check the configuration of the list box, or b) to go back and re-run the
wizard.
It might be worth anticipating some trouble here and providing the SQL
code that should appear in the control's Data > List content field after
the wizard exits:
SELECT "Surname", "ID Number" FROM "Psychiatrist"
That would allow the reader to check the configuration, or to fix it (by
editing the content field directly) if a mistake was made in navigating
the wizard.
Providing the SQL might also be helpful for showing what the wizard is
actually doing behind the scenes.
I don't know about you, but I find many of the dialogs and wizards in
Base--and this one stands out--particularly difficult to understand.
p98
The editor in which you have typed this query has two buttons for
running it: One that looks like two pages with a green tick where they
overlap and another one that says SQL with a green tick over the
letters. The first button runs the instruction by Base first, and
because Base does not understand the double pipes, it will throw an
error message of improper syntax.
This doesn't match what I see. First, the icons are slightly different.
That's not surprising--different platforms may use a different icon set,
but it might be helpful to mention that the icons may not match your
description.
Second, Base runs the query fine for me, using OOo 3.2.1, with the
result showing in the window panel. It seems the problem with the ||
operators has been resolved.
p100,ff
> Entering time and date.
This section appears just after a section explaining how to add a
default value for Patient.State. I tried to follow the same steps to add
"CURRENT_TIMESTAMP" as the default value for Patient.Time of registry,
but it doesn't work: Base removes the setting with no warning or
explanation.
This is surprising to me, since the same task in the previous section
worked easily. I see that the text states that the timestamp default
only works when the table is created, but it might be worth a sentence
to give an explicit warning that the previous approach doesn't work in
this case.
p105
Now a new form has appeared, with the name “Standard”...
For me, Base names the new form "Form" and not "Standard".
p108
Let's _firs_ review what is it that we want to achieve: ...
Let's _first_ review what is it that we want to achieve: ...
p109
Bound field specifies how to _bound_ the fields for the list box.
Bound field specifies how to _bind_ the fields for the list box.
p111
This in turn _rest_ on Data Integrity ...
This in turn _rests_ on Data Integrity ...
p112 (footnote 7)
Yet, the code in the SQL window only shows straight double quotes.
These differences can make you believe that you are inserting a correct
character that the SQL window is actually not expecting.
However, the SQL syntax coloring in the newer OOo versions does provide
a hint that something is wrong.
p113
> Ah! This list is easier for the assistant to use.
Yes, except that Base provides no obvious way to print the query results ;-)
p114
... (which is supposed to be _and_ angle)...
... (which is supposed to be _an_ angle)...
(which is supposed to be and angle)
p115
It also hints us on that HSQL will not complain about applying any
combination of functions as long as we don't default the syntax
and the data type.
Sorry, I can't quite parse that sentence.
Maybe something like
It also shows that we can use any combination of functions as
long as we use the correct the syntax and data type.
-----
Page 115 is as far as I've gone so far. I'll send some more as I
continue reading.
Again, great job!
<Joe
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