7.3 Base Guide - updates to Chapter 10 and Appendices A & B

Hello everybody,

I have placed three updated files in the relevant NextCloud folder:

  * BG7310-DatabaseMaintenance_SF_26Jan2022.odt
  * BG7311-AppendixA-CommonDatabaseTasks_SF_26Jan2022.odt
  * BG7312-AppendixB-CompareHSQLDBAndFirebird_SF_26Jan2022

These three files are now in the 7.3 template, include captions for figures and tables, and have a little less negativity in the text (e.g., less use of the word "unfortunately"; etc).

With regards to Appendix B, I had to implement the modifications with track changes off - I tried to use track changes but it proved impossible due to the re-structuring of tables that was needed. The files for Chapter 10 and Appendix A were updated with track changes on.

None of these three are scheduled for significant updates at this issue. Please could somebody review the figure / table captions, and any other tracked changes to make sure I haven’t done anything stupid?

Regards,

Steve

Hello Steve

I'm taking Appendix B for review.

I'll return on Monday 31st or sooner.

regards
Olivier

I reviewed the Appendix B and here are my findings. Track changes are ON.

1) Added Heading2 between the tables to better split them and have a way to access the tables from the TOC

2) Filled some blank cells in the tables (a few only actually)

3) Some remarks in yellow comments...

The comparison is extensive, and may require continuous update. The plan is to phase-out HSQLDB and stick with Firebird, so it is possible that this appendix will go away in the future. However, LO is late in Firebird implementation and Firebird is recommended for new databases only.

I'm also reviewing Help pages on Base and discovering a set of outdated contents, which will require some effort to update. I plan to jump between my findings in Help and BG.

Kind regards
Olivier

Thanks Olivier.

I have accepted all the tracked changes.

With regards to the remarks in yellow comments:

  * Some blank cells in the tables are assumed to imply that the HSQLDB
    and Firebird functions are equivalent. It is suggested that we
    populate such cells with the word "idem". I agree that the current
    blank cells are not ideal. However, I am not convinced that the
    situation is improved by simply populating an empty cell with such a
    string, without actually making sure that the functions are truly
    equivalent. I think that such work is beyond the scope of this
    update and should be postponed until we have time to properly check
    the information in this appendix.
  * There are blank cells in the description of some Firebird entries in
    the Operators and statements section. These could be populated using
    information on referenced web pages.Again I agree but the effort
    involved is beyond the scope of the update planned at this
    iteration. We would also need to be careful to use the correct
    Firebird information - the referenced pages relate to Firebird 4,
    whereas LO currently uses Firebird 3.0.7.

Looking ahead I think that this appendix would be better removed from the BG and transferred to a wiki page which could utilise hyperlinks to the correct information on the HSQLDB and Firebird websites, highlighting differences between the two.

Regards,

Steve

Hi Steve
Thanks for approving some of the changes proposed.

Comments below.

Thanks Olivier.

I have accepted all the tracked changes.

With regards to the remarks in yellow comments:

* Some blank cells in the tables are assumed to imply that the HSQLDB
   and Firebird functions are equivalent. It is suggested that we
   populate such cells with the word "idem". I agree that the current
   blank cells are not ideal. However, I am not convinced that the
   situation is improved by simply populating an empty cell with such a
   string, without actually making sure that the functions are truly
   equivalent. I think that such work is beyond the scope of this
   update and should be postponed until we have time to properly check
   the information in this appendix.

If the appendix is to be moved later to wiki, we can address the issue there.

* There are blank cells in the description of some Firebird entries in
   the Operators and statements section. These could be populated using
   information on referenced web pages.Again I agree but the effort
   involved is beyond the scope of the update planned at this
   iteration. We would also need to be careful to use the correct
   Firebird information - the referenced pages relate to Firebird 4,
   whereas LO currently uses Firebird 3.0.7.

OK

Looking ahead I think that this appendix would be better removed from the BG and transferred to a wiki page which could utilise hyperlinks to the correct information on the HSQLDB and Firebird websites, highlighting differences between the two.

Agree.

Regards
Olivier