On 10/02/2012 07:19 PM, Girvin R. Herr wrote: > > > Jay Lozier wrote: > <snip> >> >From the comments on the list, the weakest part of LO is Base. However, >> my observation is most people find learning any true database daunting >> and thus do not learn how to use any database. Compounding this is the >> fact many MSO packages do not include Access. Many thus use a >> spreadsheet as a poor man's substitute for a proper database. >> >> <snip> >> >> > Jay, > I use Base as a MySQL client to access my databases, which are mostly > inventories. I started with MS Access years ago and switched to MySQL > c. 2004, when a MySQL Open Source client (Rekall) finally appeared for > Linux. But Rekall stopped being supported a few years later and the > version I had still had a few bugs that should have been worked on. > When Base started being a general database server client (interfaced > to MySQL, etc.) rather than that proprietary database thing that > StarOffice used (and may still do so), I looked into switching from > Rekall to Base. Doing so was not a trivial task, since all the work I > had done on data entry forms and reports in Rekall had to be discarded > and that work redone for Base. After recreating all my data entry > forms and reports, I got Base to work reasonably well within my > requirements. However, the latest version (1.2.1) of Oracle Report > Builder (ORB) is a basket case. When it doesn't crash LO, it is dog > slow at creating my reports. Too slow to be used. I have just this > week, downloaded an Open Source report generator program called > DataVision http://datavision.sourceforge.net/ and got it to work on > my Slackware Linux system with MySQL. This version, 1.2.0, is rough, > many features are not working yet and it does not seem to be supported > any more either, since this latest version is dated 2008. However, > unlike ORB, it does do what I want a report generator to do - without > crashing and at a reasonably fast speed. Since it is an Open Source > JAVA program using an Apache license, if any of the Base devs are > listening, I suggest they look into taking over DataVision as an > addition to Base. Base without a report generator is like a computer > program that accepts inputs but does not output anything - useless. > Akin to Writer or Calc not printing! > > Was all my database work, including learning a bit of SQL "daunting"? > Yes, I suppose it was, but it was and is a learning experience and I > don't mind learning something new. I am not in the least a SQL > master, but I do understand it enough to get by. If not, I hit the > books again. There are those who can't or won't learn anything new. > For them, there is the Calc tool, which fits their hands better, but > maybe isn't quite the best tool for the job. > Girvin Herr > Girvin,
Most people I have talked to about databases find them less intuitive than other typical office and general software. -- Jay Lozier [email protected] -- For unsubscribe instructions e-mail to: [email protected] 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/users/ All messages sent to this list will be publicly archived and cannot be deleted
