> Then what purpose does Base serve using HSQLDB as its database > engine? Why even write the Base Guide if the whole thing is > going to be changed?
Because Base can use a wide range of database programs to hold and "dispense" the data is uses, the guide doesn't have to be "about" any of them. The job that Base is doing is providing useful interaction with the beast that does the work. Perhaps it's a bit like being a terminal to a mainframe, but the terminal isn't dumb, and it's also used to manage the mainframe, not just get information into and out of it. Because of this management aspect, the guide does need to teach the reader something about design, which of course has been one of the reasons databases aren't such a generally used tool as spreadsheets. I don't mind using HSQLDB commands and requirements as an *example* of that, as long as the ability to use all sorts of backends is really headlined. The really good thing about Base is that it provides tools to put that data into stuff the user wants; reports, mailmerged documents, onscreen forms. That's the stuff that the database engines don't do, because they're (quite rightly) focused on doing the work, not presenting the work. As such, Base is, or could be, a much more comprehensive tool than Access, and in fact any current database product on the desktop, of which there is a serious lack these days. If you want to know, that's why I'm here. Microsoft are killing one of the best databases around, Visual FoxPro, without any credible product to fill the gap. And to be honest, even that doesn't match up to Writer+mailmerge fields+backend connectivity. Regards Mark Stanton One small step for mankind... -- Unsubscribe instructions: E-mail to documentation+h...@global.libreoffice.org Problems? http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/ Posting guidelines + more: http://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette List archive: http://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/documentation/ All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted
