On Sun, Jan 3, 2010 at 18:01, Andreas Saeger wrote: >> That they want is a _simple_ way to enter data, and then retrieve it, when >> needed.
> But this is exactly where the typical user fails while using a spreadsheet. > - People do not get the idea that 90% of all spreadsheet functionality is > about calculating numbers. Most of the blame here belongs on t he people who write the manuals a nd documentation for spreadsheets. The rest of the blame belongs on those spreadsheet wizards --- usually Excel, but Visicalc, dBase, and 123 had/have their share --- who use the spreadsheet for writing text documents, programming, and anything else you might want to do.(Seriously, I've seen chess games written within Excel. I've > I debugged hundreds of sheets with all kinds of errors due to _simple but > wrong_ usage. That sounds like an underestimation, by several orders of magnitude. > It is so much easier to keep simple lists in databases. Whilst that should be true, for the average user, it isn't simpler, because they never learned how to create, or use a database. Pick up any recent (post 1995) book on databases. * If it covers MS Access, it _might_ provide enough instructions, for a user to create a database, without using any intimidating terminology; * If it covers any other database engine, or databases in general, the language is intimidating; >Since 2003 it is a flat dBase list OOo 1.x included a dBase 3 compatible database engine. Whenever the issue of "does OOo include a database?" came up, the answer was invariably "no". http://homepage.ntlworld.com/garryknight/linux/oodbase.html was one of the few documents on creating dBase databases from within OOo 1.x. (Now wondering if that dBase compatible engine has been removed from OOo.) ### I'm writing documentation on creating and editing SQLite databases from within OOo, for users that have a vague idea of what a spreadsheet is, and literally no idea what a database is. Whilst that might sound good, the problem is that their only exposure to spreadsheets, has been its abuse as a database. jonathon --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
