Re: [libreoffice-documentation] Thoughts on the Base Guide

2021-12-03 Thread Steve Fanning

Hi Olivier,

Thanks for that, and for producing the book covers.

I will check all chapters for unnecessary tab characters and remove them 
before publication of the 7.2 Base Guide.


Regards,

Steve


On 03/12/2021 12:07, Olivier Hallot wrote:

Hi Steve

I also agree with your remarks.

Regards
Olivier
PS:
- Book covers are already done
- some SQL listings and macros have tab characters for code 
indentation in the book. It is advisable to replace them with spaces.


Em 02/12/2021 18:29, Steve Fanning escreveu:

Hello All,

Thanks for the feedback received about how to progress the Base Guide.

Based on my current understanding of its status, I would like to make 
the following two suggestions:


(1) That we issue a 7.2 Base Guide within the next few days. I’m 
happy to collate the book based on the existing 6.4 chapters (but 
within a 7.2 style template), apart from the Preface. My suggestion 
is to update the Preface so that:


    a)    It does not have a statement explaining that the Firebird 
implementation within Base is “full of bugs” on its first page, and
    b)    It has a greater level of consistency with the prefaces to 
other LibreOffice guides, and
    c)    It includes a statement that there are no significant 
changes from 6.4.


In my opinion, the fact that there is no significant software change 
since 6.4 justifies this approach and, if there is no dissent, then I 
can create this book rapidly.


(2) That we look to implement a relatively significant update to the 
Base Guide to coincide with a later build of software. This may 
involve restructuring and other changes, as have been identified in 
emails on this list during the past few days. I would be happy to 
start work on this and coordinate the production of such an update.


The reviewing work that has been done so far (primarily by Felipe and 
Dev) will be extremely useful for improving the material in this 
book. Many thanks to them for that work. It might be worth pausing 
the review of the Base Guide chapters while we gather our thoughts on 
what should be done to the document. Ideas can be exchanged through 
this email list, or via the Documentation Team meetings.


Please let me know if anybody is unhappy with this outline approach 
or would like to suggest something different.


Regards,

Steve

On 02/12/2021 01:41, Felipe Viggiano de Souza wrote:

Hello Steve,


Just uploaded a first review of the BG7002 and checked out the BG7204.

Since I do not have any experience in the LO Base, I have just made 
some superficial suggestions.


About your considerations:

i. There were some reference to bugs and a lot of pictures without 
caption.


ii. As far as I could tell, the features are pretty much the same 
for this chapter, didn't notice some significant change (I'm 
referring only to the GUI, can't say much for the code presented).



Are we planning to deliver the Base Guide still in 2021? Asking this 
because, if not I think we could use some second reviews on these 
documents.



Best regards,

Felipe Viggiano


Em 29/11/2021 08:20, Steve Fanning escreveu:


Hi Team,

During the past few days, I have spent some time looking at the 6.4 
Base Guide as we begin to review and update it. Unfortunately, if 
we are to improve the quality of the book then the task may involve 
significantly more effort and time than we at first anticipated.


This conclusion has been drawn based on my work to date and is a 
result of the following main factors:


 * Previous emails have noted that the document would benefit from a
   refresh of the figures. What I hadn’t considered was that the “user
   data” within many of the figures is based on German examples, which
   isn’t ideal for an English language document. I have also found 
that
   the structure of the example “Media_without_Macros” database 
doesn’t

   quite match the figures in Chapter 3 (Tables). Hence there is
   additional effort needed to re-work some of the underlying sample
   databases to review their structure and include English data.
 * When reviewing the early sections of Chapter 3 (Tables), I was
   surprised by the level of change necessary to get the detail 
correct

   for 7.2. We can only assume that this is also the case in other
   chapters (maybe Felipe and Dev could comment on whether Chapters 1
   and 2 follow this trend).
 * I was a little shocked when I found out how many bugs are 
explicitly

   referenced in the text, with links to Bugzilla, and this feels like
   it could be a marketing disaster. Just to give an idea of the scope
   of this problem, I found specific references to the following bugs
   within the text 46180, 51452, 51453, 51959, 53027, 61871, 73707,
   80320, 82411, 82591, 87290. Also, statements like “Firebird engine
   is very good, it is its implementation in base which is full of
   bugs” and “The Report Builder is somewhat treacherous in use, as
   certain functions are available in theory but don’t work in
   practice” may be true bu

Re: [libreoffice-documentation] Thoughts on the Base Guide

2021-12-03 Thread Olivier Hallot

Hi Steve

I also agree with your remarks.

Regards
Olivier
PS:
- Book covers are already done
- some SQL listings and macros have tab characters for code indentation 
in the book. It is advisable to replace them with spaces.


Em 02/12/2021 18:29, Steve Fanning escreveu:

Hello All,

Thanks for the feedback received about how to progress the Base Guide.

Based on my current understanding of its status, I would like to make 
the following two suggestions:


(1) That we issue a 7.2 Base Guide within the next few days. I’m happy 
to collate the book based on the existing 6.4 chapters (but within a 7.2 
style template), apart from the Preface. My suggestion is to update the 
Preface so that:


    a)    It does not have a statement explaining that the Firebird 
implementation within Base is “full of bugs” on its first page, and
    b)    It has a greater level of consistency with the prefaces to 
other LibreOffice guides, and
    c)    It includes a statement that there are no significant changes 
from 6.4.


In my opinion, the fact that there is no significant software change 
since 6.4 justifies this approach and, if there is no dissent, then I 
can create this book rapidly.


(2) That we look to implement a relatively significant update to the 
Base Guide to coincide with a later build of software. This may involve 
restructuring and other changes, as have been identified in emails on 
this list during the past few days. I would be happy to start work on 
this and coordinate the production of such an update.


The reviewing work that has been done so far (primarily by Felipe and 
Dev) will be extremely useful for improving the material in this book. 
Many thanks to them for that work. It might be worth pausing the review 
of the Base Guide chapters while we gather our thoughts on what should 
be done to the document. Ideas can be exchanged through this email list, 
or via the Documentation Team meetings.


Please let me know if anybody is unhappy with this outline approach or 
would like to suggest something different.


Regards,

Steve

On 02/12/2021 01:41, Felipe Viggiano de Souza wrote:

Hello Steve,


Just uploaded a first review of the BG7002 and checked out the BG7204.

Since I do not have any experience in the LO Base, I have just made 
some superficial suggestions.


About your considerations:

i. There were some reference to bugs and a lot of pictures without 
caption.


ii. As far as I could tell, the features are pretty much the same for 
this chapter, didn't notice some significant change (I'm referring 
only to the GUI, can't say much for the code presented).



Are we planning to deliver the Base Guide still in 2021? Asking this 
because, if not I think we could use some second reviews on these 
documents.



Best regards,

Felipe Viggiano


Em 29/11/2021 08:20, Steve Fanning escreveu:


Hi Team,

During the past few days, I have spent some time looking at the 6.4 
Base Guide as we begin to review and update it. Unfortunately, if we 
are to improve the quality of the book then the task may involve 
significantly more effort and time than we at first anticipated.


This conclusion has been drawn based on my work to date and is a 
result of the following main factors:


 * Previous emails have noted that the document would benefit from a
   refresh of the figures. What I hadn’t considered was that the “user
   data” within many of the figures is based on German examples, which
   isn’t ideal for an English language document. I have also found that
   the structure of the example “Media_without_Macros” database doesn’t
   quite match the figures in Chapter 3 (Tables). Hence there is
   additional effort needed to re-work some of the underlying sample
   databases to review their structure and include English data.
 * When reviewing the early sections of Chapter 3 (Tables), I was
   surprised by the level of change necessary to get the detail correct
   for 7.2. We can only assume that this is also the case in other
   chapters (maybe Felipe and Dev could comment on whether Chapters 1
   and 2 follow this trend).
 * I was a little shocked when I found out how many bugs are explicitly
   referenced in the text, with links to Bugzilla, and this feels like
   it could be a marketing disaster. Just to give an idea of the scope
   of this problem, I found specific references to the following bugs
   within the text 46180, 51452, 51453, 51959, 53027, 61871, 73707,
   80320, 82411, 82591, 87290. Also, statements like “Firebird engine
   is very good, it is its implementation in base which is full of
   bugs” and “The Report Builder is somewhat treacherous in use, as
   certain functions are available in theory but don’t work in
   practice” may be true but don’t create a great impression.
 * Discussion in the mailing list has indicated that we should update
   the technical content of the document in a few areas (e.g.,
   comparison of HSQLDB and Firebird; "Auto Grow" feature in reports;
   changes to W

Re: [libreoffice-documentation] Thoughts on the Base Guide

2021-12-03 Thread Jean Weber
+1

Jean

On Fri, 3 Dec 2021 at 19:09 Steve Fanning 
wrote:

> Hello All,
>
> Thanks for the feedback received about how to progress the Base Guide.
>
> Based on my current understanding of its status, I would like to make
> the following two suggestions:
>
> (1) That we issue a 7.2 Base Guide within the next few days. I’m happy
> to collate the book based on the existing 6.4 chapters (but within a 7.2
> style template), apart from the Preface. My suggestion is to update the
> Preface so that:
>
> a)It does not have a statement explaining that the Firebird
> implementation within Base is “full of bugs” on its first page, and
> b)It has a greater level of consistency with the prefaces to
> other LibreOffice guides, and
> c)It includes a statement that there are no significant changes
> from 6.4.
>
> In my opinion, the fact that there is no significant software change
> since 6.4 justifies this approach and, if there is no dissent, then I
> can create this book rapidly.
>
> (2) That we look to implement a relatively significant update to the
> Base Guide to coincide with a later build of software. This may involve
> restructuring and other changes, as have been identified in emails on
> this list during the past few days. I would be happy to start work on
> this and coordinate the production of such an update.
>
> The reviewing work that has been done so far (primarily by Felipe and
> Dev) will be extremely useful for improving the material in this book.
> Many thanks to them for that work. It might be worth pausing the review
> of the Base Guide chapters while we gather our thoughts on what should
> be done to the document. Ideas can be exchanged through this email list,
> or via the Documentation Team meetings.
>
> Please let me know if anybody is unhappy with this outline approach or
> would like to suggest something different.
>
> Regards,
>
> Steve
>
> On 02/12/2021 01:41, Felipe Viggiano de Souza wrote:
> > Hello Steve,
> >
> >
> > Just uploaded a first review of the BG7002 and checked out the BG7204.
> >
> > Since I do not have any experience in the LO Base, I have just made
> > some superficial suggestions.
> >
> > About your considerations:
> >
> > i. There were some reference to bugs and a lot of pictures without
> > caption.
> >
> > ii. As far as I could tell, the features are pretty much the same for
> > this chapter, didn't notice some significant change (I'm referring
> > only to the GUI, can't say much for the code presented).
> >
> >
> > Are we planning to deliver the Base Guide still in 2021? Asking this
> > because, if not I think we could use some second reviews on these
> > documents.
> >
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Felipe Viggiano
> >
> >
> > Em 29/11/2021 08:20, Steve Fanning escreveu:
> >
> >> Hi Team,
> >>
> >> During the past few days, I have spent some time looking at the 6.4
> >> Base Guide as we begin to review and update it. Unfortunately, if we
> >> are to improve the quality of the book then the task may involve
> >> significantly more effort and time than we at first anticipated.
> >>
> >> This conclusion has been drawn based on my work to date and is a
> >> result of the following main factors:
> >>
> >>  * Previous emails have noted that the document would benefit from a
> >>refresh of the figures. What I hadn’t considered was that the “user
> >>data” within many of the figures is based on German examples, which
> >>isn’t ideal for an English language document. I have also found that
> >>the structure of the example “Media_without_Macros” database doesn’t
> >>quite match the figures in Chapter 3 (Tables). Hence there is
> >>additional effort needed to re-work some of the underlying sample
> >>databases to review their structure and include English data.
> >>  * When reviewing the early sections of Chapter 3 (Tables), I was
> >>surprised by the level of change necessary to get the detail correct
> >>for 7.2. We can only assume that this is also the case in other
> >>chapters (maybe Felipe and Dev could comment on whether Chapters 1
> >>and 2 follow this trend).
> >>  * I was a little shocked when I found out how many bugs are explicitly
> >>referenced in the text, with links to Bugzilla, and this feels like
> >>it could be a marketing disaster. Just to give an idea of the scope
> >>of this problem, I found specific references to the following bugs
> >>within the text 46180, 51452, 51453, 51959, 53027, 61871, 73707,
> >>80320, 82411, 82591, 87290. Also, statements like “Firebird engine
> >>is very good, it is its implementation in base which is full of
> >>bugs” and “The Report Builder is somewhat treacherous in use, as
> >>certain functions are available in theory but don’t work in
> >>practice” may be true but don’t create a great impression.
> >>  * Discussion in the mailing list has indicated that we should update
> >>the technical content of the document in a few 

Re: [libreoffice-documentation] Thoughts on the Base Guide

2021-12-03 Thread Steve Fanning

Hello All,

Thanks for the feedback received about how to progress the Base Guide.

Based on my current understanding of its status, I would like to make 
the following two suggestions:


(1) That we issue a 7.2 Base Guide within the next few days. I’m happy 
to collate the book based on the existing 6.4 chapters (but within a 7.2 
style template), apart from the Preface. My suggestion is to update the 
Preface so that:


   a)    It does not have a statement explaining that the Firebird 
implementation within Base is “full of bugs” on its first page, and
   b)    It has a greater level of consistency with the prefaces to 
other LibreOffice guides, and
   c)    It includes a statement that there are no significant changes 
from 6.4.


In my opinion, the fact that there is no significant software change 
since 6.4 justifies this approach and, if there is no dissent, then I 
can create this book rapidly.


(2) That we look to implement a relatively significant update to the 
Base Guide to coincide with a later build of software. This may involve 
restructuring and other changes, as have been identified in emails on 
this list during the past few days. I would be happy to start work on 
this and coordinate the production of such an update.


The reviewing work that has been done so far (primarily by Felipe and 
Dev) will be extremely useful for improving the material in this book. 
Many thanks to them for that work. It might be worth pausing the review 
of the Base Guide chapters while we gather our thoughts on what should 
be done to the document. Ideas can be exchanged through this email list, 
or via the Documentation Team meetings.


Please let me know if anybody is unhappy with this outline approach or 
would like to suggest something different.


Regards,

Steve

On 02/12/2021 01:41, Felipe Viggiano de Souza wrote:

Hello Steve,


Just uploaded a first review of the BG7002 and checked out the BG7204.

Since I do not have any experience in the LO Base, I have just made 
some superficial suggestions.


About your considerations:

i. There were some reference to bugs and a lot of pictures without 
caption.


ii. As far as I could tell, the features are pretty much the same for 
this chapter, didn't notice some significant change (I'm referring 
only to the GUI, can't say much for the code presented).



Are we planning to deliver the Base Guide still in 2021? Asking this 
because, if not I think we could use some second reviews on these 
documents.



Best regards,

Felipe Viggiano


Em 29/11/2021 08:20, Steve Fanning escreveu:


Hi Team,

During the past few days, I have spent some time looking at the 6.4 
Base Guide as we begin to review and update it. Unfortunately, if we 
are to improve the quality of the book then the task may involve 
significantly more effort and time than we at first anticipated.


This conclusion has been drawn based on my work to date and is a 
result of the following main factors:


 * Previous emails have noted that the document would benefit from a
   refresh of the figures. What I hadn’t considered was that the “user
   data” within many of the figures is based on German examples, which
   isn’t ideal for an English language document. I have also found that
   the structure of the example “Media_without_Macros” database doesn’t
   quite match the figures in Chapter 3 (Tables). Hence there is
   additional effort needed to re-work some of the underlying sample
   databases to review their structure and include English data.
 * When reviewing the early sections of Chapter 3 (Tables), I was
   surprised by the level of change necessary to get the detail correct
   for 7.2. We can only assume that this is also the case in other
   chapters (maybe Felipe and Dev could comment on whether Chapters 1
   and 2 follow this trend).
 * I was a little shocked when I found out how many bugs are explicitly
   referenced in the text, with links to Bugzilla, and this feels like
   it could be a marketing disaster. Just to give an idea of the scope
   of this problem, I found specific references to the following bugs
   within the text 46180, 51452, 51453, 51959, 53027, 61871, 73707,
   80320, 82411, 82591, 87290. Also, statements like “Firebird engine
   is very good, it is its implementation in base which is full of
   bugs” and “The Report Builder is somewhat treacherous in use, as
   certain functions are available in theory but don’t work in
   practice” may be true but don’t create a great impression.
 * Discussion in the mailing list has indicated that we should update
   the technical content of the document in a few areas (e.g.,
   comparison of HSQLDB and Firebird; "Auto Grow" feature in reports;
   changes to Writer and maybe Calc may affect discussions of the
   interaction between Base and other LO components).
 * Previous authors and editors believed that the document should be
   re-structured (see for example
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Development/User_G

Re: [libreoffice-documentation] Thoughts on the Base Guide

2021-12-01 Thread Felipe Viggiano de Souza

Hello Steve,


Just uploaded a first review of the BG7002 and checked out the BG7204.

Since I do not have any experience in the LO Base, I have just made some 
superficial suggestions.


About your considerations:

i. There were some reference to bugs and a lot of pictures without caption.

ii. As far as I could tell, the features are pretty much the same for 
this chapter, didn't notice some significant change (I'm referring only 
to the GUI, can't say much for the code presented).



Are we planning to deliver the Base Guide still in 2021? Asking this 
because, if not I think we could use some second reviews on these documents.



Best regards,

Felipe Viggiano


Em 29/11/2021 08:20, Steve Fanning escreveu:


Hi Team,

During the past few days, I have spent some time looking at the 6.4 
Base Guide as we begin to review and update it. Unfortunately, if we 
are to improve the quality of the book then the task may involve 
significantly more effort and time than we at first anticipated.


This conclusion has been drawn based on my work to date and is a 
result of the following main factors:


 * Previous emails have noted that the document would benefit from a
   refresh of the figures. What I hadn’t considered was that the “user
   data” within many of the figures is based on German examples, which
   isn’t ideal for an English language document. I have also found that
   the structure of the example “Media_without_Macros” database doesn’t
   quite match the figures in Chapter 3 (Tables). Hence there is
   additional effort needed to re-work some of the underlying sample
   databases to review their structure and include English data.
 * When reviewing the early sections of Chapter 3 (Tables), I was
   surprised by the level of change necessary to get the detail correct
   for 7.2. We can only assume that this is also the case in other
   chapters (maybe Felipe and Dev could comment on whether Chapters 1
   and 2 follow this trend).
 * I was a little shocked when I found out how many bugs are explicitly
   referenced in the text, with links to Bugzilla, and this feels like
   it could be a marketing disaster. Just to give an idea of the scope
   of this problem, I found specific references to the following bugs
   within the text 46180, 51452, 51453, 51959, 53027, 61871, 73707,
   80320, 82411, 82591, 87290. Also, statements like “Firebird engine
   is very good, it is its implementation in base which is full of
   bugs” and “The Report Builder is somewhat treacherous in use, as
   certain functions are available in theory but don’t work in
   practice” may be true but don’t create a great impression.
 * Discussion in the mailing list has indicated that we should update
   the technical content of the document in a few areas (e.g.,
   comparison of HSQLDB and Firebird; "Auto Grow" feature in reports;
   changes to Writer and maybe Calc may affect discussions of the
   interaction between Base and other LO components).
 * Previous authors and editors believed that the document should be
   re-structured (see for example
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Development/User_Guide_Tasks#Base_Guide).

I don’t think that all the above can be addressed quickly. Therefore, 
to make rapid progress (and complete the set of 7.2 guides), should we 
issue the 7.2 Base Guide simply as a cosmetic update to the 6.4 
version? The ODT files have already been updated to the LO7 style and 
the 7.2 book covers are available. With no substantial change then 
there should be little reviewing required. However, I have already 
prepared an updated Preface and it might be worth including that.


Meanwhile we can continue reviewing/improving the material in 
preparation for a future update.


All views would be very welcome.

Regards,

Steve



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Re: [libreoffice-documentation] Thoughts on the Base Guide

2021-11-29 Thread Jean Weber
Steve,
I would be fine with issuing a cosmetic "update" to complete the set
of v7.2 user guides. IIRC, I have done that before with at least one
other book, though possibly back in OO days.

I have checked the section "Creating mail merge documents" in Chapter
7, which I said I would update. I see only one figure that is out of
date (top of page 11, the first figure in that section), but the
change in it is minor and does not affect the instructions. It could
be left as it is.

I do not have a problem with bugs being mentioned or listed; in fact,
as a user I would likely find them helpful if I ran into a problem
with the software, and I would appreciate the honesty. However, I do
agree that the wording of some statements about bugs could be made a
lot more diplomatic.

I agree that the book would be improved for English audiences by
replacing the German examples in the sample databases, and of course
all the other improvements and restructuring that others have
suggested. But all that is work for a later edition.

Regards, Jean

On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 9:21 PM Steve Fanning
 wrote:
>
> Hi Team,
>
> During the past few days, I have spent some time looking at the 6.4 Base
> Guide as we begin to review and update it. Unfortunately, if we are to
> improve the quality of the book then the task may involve significantly
> more effort and time than we at first anticipated.
>
> This conclusion has been drawn based on my work to date and is a result
> of the following main factors:
>
>   * Previous emails have noted that the document would benefit from a
> refresh of the figures. What I hadn’t considered was that the “user
> data” within many of the figures is based on German examples, which
> isn’t ideal for an English language document. I have also found that
> the structure of the example “Media_without_Macros” database doesn’t
> quite match the figures in Chapter 3 (Tables). Hence there is
> additional effort needed to re-work some of the underlying sample
> databases to review their structure and include English data.
>   * When reviewing the early sections of Chapter 3 (Tables), I was
> surprised by the level of change necessary to get the detail correct
> for 7.2. We can only assume that this is also the case in other
> chapters (maybe Felipe and Dev could comment on whether Chapters 1
> and 2 follow this trend).
>   * I was a little shocked when I found out how many bugs are explicitly
> referenced in the text, with links to Bugzilla, and this feels like
> it could be a marketing disaster. Just to give an idea of the scope
> of this problem, I found specific references to the following bugs
> within the text 46180, 51452, 51453, 51959, 53027, 61871, 73707,
> 80320, 82411, 82591, 87290. Also, statements like “Firebird engine
> is very good, it is its implementation in base which is full of
> bugs” and “The Report Builder is somewhat treacherous in use, as
> certain functions are available in theory but don’t work in
> practice” may be true but don’t create a great impression.
>   * Discussion in the mailing list has indicated that we should update
> the technical content of the document in a few areas (e.g.,
> comparison of HSQLDB and Firebird; "Auto Grow" feature in reports;
> changes to Writer and maybe Calc may affect discussions of the
> interaction between Base and other LO components).
>   * Previous authors and editors believed that the document should be
> re-structured (see for example
> 
> https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Development/User_Guide_Tasks#Base_Guide).
>
> I don’t think that all the above can be addressed quickly. Therefore, to
> make rapid progress (and complete the set of 7.2 guides), should we
> issue the 7.2 Base Guide simply as a cosmetic update to the 6.4 version?
> The ODT files have already been updated to the LO7 style and the 7.2
> book covers are available. With no substantial change then there should
> be little reviewing required. However, I have already prepared an
> updated Preface and it might be worth including that.
>
> Meanwhile we can continue reviewing/improving the material in
> preparation for a future update.
>
> All views would be very welcome.
>
> Regards,
>
> Steve

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[libreoffice-documentation] Thoughts on the Base Guide

2021-11-29 Thread Steve Fanning

Hi Team,

During the past few days, I have spent some time looking at the 6.4 Base 
Guide as we begin to review and update it. Unfortunately, if we are to 
improve the quality of the book then the task may involve significantly 
more effort and time than we at first anticipated.


This conclusion has been drawn based on my work to date and is a result 
of the following main factors:


 * Previous emails have noted that the document would benefit from a
   refresh of the figures. What I hadn’t considered was that the “user
   data” within many of the figures is based on German examples, which
   isn’t ideal for an English language document. I have also found that
   the structure of the example “Media_without_Macros” database doesn’t
   quite match the figures in Chapter 3 (Tables). Hence there is
   additional effort needed to re-work some of the underlying sample
   databases to review their structure and include English data.
 * When reviewing the early sections of Chapter 3 (Tables), I was
   surprised by the level of change necessary to get the detail correct
   for 7.2. We can only assume that this is also the case in other
   chapters (maybe Felipe and Dev could comment on whether Chapters 1
   and 2 follow this trend).
 * I was a little shocked when I found out how many bugs are explicitly
   referenced in the text, with links to Bugzilla, and this feels like
   it could be a marketing disaster. Just to give an idea of the scope
   of this problem, I found specific references to the following bugs
   within the text 46180, 51452, 51453, 51959, 53027, 61871, 73707,
   80320, 82411, 82591, 87290. Also, statements like “Firebird engine
   is very good, it is its implementation in base which is full of
   bugs” and “The Report Builder is somewhat treacherous in use, as
   certain functions are available in theory but don’t work in
   practice” may be true but don’t create a great impression.
 * Discussion in the mailing list has indicated that we should update
   the technical content of the document in a few areas (e.g.,
   comparison of HSQLDB and Firebird; "Auto Grow" feature in reports;
   changes to Writer and maybe Calc may affect discussions of the
   interaction between Base and other LO components).
 * Previous authors and editors believed that the document should be
   re-structured (see for example
   
https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Documentation/Development/User_Guide_Tasks#Base_Guide).

I don’t think that all the above can be addressed quickly. Therefore, to 
make rapid progress (and complete the set of 7.2 guides), should we 
issue the 7.2 Base Guide simply as a cosmetic update to the 6.4 version? 
The ODT files have already been updated to the LO7 style and the 7.2 
book covers are available. With no substantial change then there should 
be little reviewing required. However, I have already prepared an 
updated Preface and it might be worth including that.


Meanwhile we can continue reviewing/improving the material in 
preparation for a future update.


All views would be very welcome.

Regards,

Steve

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