jonathon wrote:
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".
Wrong. You could connect, define queries, use form controls and reports.
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.)
###
OOo 1 included the same Base component as today. There was no way to
bundle a complete database in a zip-archive, but more or less you could
connect the same types of exteranl databases: csv, addressbooks,
spreadsheets, dBase and anything you had some driver for.
Query definitions could be defined in the beamer and were stored in the
user profile. The form controls were the same as today, any office
document could be linked as form or report in the beamer window. That
concept was much better than the "Base document" (which behaves more
like an extension when you "open" the document).
(Now wondering if that dBase compatible engine has been removed from OOo.)
No, it's still in there. You can connect a "Base document" to a
directory of dBase files (dbf tables and index files). The result is a
simple database like the ones connected to spreadsheets or csv, but
dBase is editable. The built-in "Bibliography" is a dBase table in your
user profile (right-click>OpenDocument... Edit>Database>Properties...).
Under WIndows you can use the built-in ODBC driver for dBase which
allows relations. The built-in OOo driver (sdbc) can not join tables.
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.
So true, sigh.
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