Mark Wellendorf wrote:
I am new to OpenOffice.org. Right now I administrate a 50-user Microsoft
oriented network. I would love to get rid of all Microsoft software, install
Linux and use OpenOffice.org. I can replace pretty much all of my software
it seems except for Access. Can OOo really do what Access is doing ?
Any info or suggestions would be welcomed.
It depends on how complex your database is. I was in a very similar
situation to you a little over a year ago. I investigated OOo base,
Rekall, Kylix, and a number of other alternatives. I came to the
conclusion that for what I wanted to do ( complex GUIs, complex
application logic, that runs fast on slow hardware ), I was better off
rolling my own solution in Gtk2-Perl. I've now open-sourced a lot of the
tools that I've built to help me along the way. They're available at:
http://entropy.homelinux.org/axis_not_evil/
Basically what I've done is 2 perl modules to provide 'form' and
'datasheet' functionality, and module for 'report' functionality. You
can use Glade to create your GUIs. If you haven't used Glade, gives you
all the widgets that you're used to in Access, plus a LOT more. It has a
different way of laying things out though - instead of fixed widget
positions like in Access and OOo, you place all widgets in container
objects, like tables, and then when you resize your window, everything
stretches to fill the window properly ... it's a much better way of
creating GUIs.
It all runs on Windows, Linux and OS-X ( all tested ), and most likely a
lot of other OSs that can run Gtk2. I've got all the details &
screenshots on the website.
OOo base is good for simple data entry tasks, but OOBasic & UNO is a
nightmare, especially when compared to Perl & Gtk2. Also OOo is quite
large and slow ( and still a little crashy ), whereas my solution is
very lightweight, fast, and rock-solid.
Need something that I haven't thought of yet? Send a feature request :)
--
Daniel Kasak
IT Developer
NUS Consulting Group
Level 5, 77 Pacific Highway
North Sydney, NSW, Australia 2060
T: (+61) 2 9922-7676 / F: (+61) 2 9922 7989
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
website: http://www.nusconsulting.com.au
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