Then what purpose does Base serve using HSQLDB as its database
engine? Why even write the Base Guide if the whole thing is
going to be changed?
Because Base can use a wide range of database programs to hold and
"dispense" the data is uses, the guide doesn't have to be "about" any
of them.
The job that Base is doing is providing useful interaction with the
beast that does the work. Perhaps it's a bit like being a terminal
to a mainframe, but the terminal isn't dumb, and it's also used to
manage the mainframe, not just get information into and out of it.
Because of this management aspect, the guide does need to teach the
reader something about design, which of course has been one of the
reasons databases aren't such a generally used tool as spreadsheets.
I don't mind using HSQLDB commands and requirements as an *example*
of that, as long as the ability to use all sorts of backends is
really headlined.
The really good thing about Base is that it provides tools to put
that data into stuff the user wants; reports, mailmerged documents,
onscreen forms. That's the stuff that the database engines don't do,
because they're (quite rightly) focused on doing the work, not
presenting the work.
As such, Base is, or could be, a much more comprehensive tool than
Access, and in fact any current database product on the desktop, of
which there is a serious lack these days. If you want to know,
that's why I'm here. Microsoft are killing one of the best databases
around, Visual FoxPro, without any credible product to fill the gap.
And to be honest, even that doesn't match up to Writer+mailmerge
fields+backend connectivity.
Regards
Mark Stanton
One small step for mankind...