Updated Base 3.5 Alternate Outline

I have updated the outline I have written for a LO 3.5 Base guide. Thank you
for the feedback. There is one author willing to write a few chapters and I
am talking to another who worked on the Calc guide a while back about
collaborating on some.

You can find the outline at:

http://www.odfauthors.org/libreoffice/english/base-guide/draft-lo3.5

Rick B

Hi :slight_smile:
Errr, i think i picked the wrong moment to have a look.  The folder is empty at the moment.  I might try to have a look later.
Good luck and regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Tom,
Rick had not made the file "externally visible", so if you weren't
logged in you couldn't see it. I have now made it visible.
--Jean

Hi :slight_smile:
Wow, that is cool.  Thanks Jean :slight_smile:
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Oops...sorry. I have forgotten some of the complexities of Plone.

If any authors would like to write a chapter of this guide let me know. It
is my belief that you don't need knowledge of databases, or Base for that
matter. A good author can research the topic, write about it and we can help
clean it up for public consumption :wink: These chapters (except the first one)
are purposely restricted to one topic. Some will be shorter than others. So
don't be intimidated by the subject matter, there is a lot of help lurking
here. In the end you may become a database expert.

You can find the outline at:
http://www.odfauthors.org/libreoffice/english/base-guide/draft-lo3.5

...and it apparently is now externally visible.

Rick

Hi :slight_smile:
While i agree that a good author can overcome a lack of knowledge there needs to be an expert or few somewhere along the path
1.  to steer people in the right direction, as the outline does.
2.  to either proof-read a chapter or perhaps provide a first/2nd draft (and then a non-expert could proof-read)

It's possibly an advantage to deliberately make sure that a non-expert is also involved in the process because that helps iron-out geeky terms or make sure they are explained well enough that a noob could understand the chapter.

I like the idea of the outline.  I haven't looked at the one we did previously but i like the idea of having chapters dedicated to the 4 key 'sub-applications' within Base/Access;
Tables
Queries
Forms
Reports
However i think those chapter titles would be better if they started with those word first.  I think each chapter should give a quick tiny 2 line intro into how the 'sub-application' fits into the program.  For example in Forms and Reports i think it would be good to state something like
"Forms/Reports should be built from Queries rather than directly from Tables.  This allows greater flexibility in the future and guards against changes in the back-end which might be outside of the control of Base users."  Hmm, that is already longer than i meant. 
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

I'll take Chapter 2.

Jean

I'll also point out to other people that a good starting place for
most of the chapters is the relevant section in Dan Lewis's excellent
document "Getting Started with Base".

As I said in an earlier note, I think this book and the one that Dan
has been working on will make fine companion volumes.

--Jean

Tom,

Thanks for your feedback. I wrote the outline as a guide for the guide so,
it too, is flexible. And in the course of authoring a chapter one might find
it not the best way to go. Changes are welcome...

i think those chapter titles would be better if they started with those

word first.

The Authors can change them (and the section names) to whatever they
wish...if it is questionable then we will depend on good reviewers to
"clean" it up.

I think each chapter should give a quick tiny 2 line intro into how the

'sub-application' fits into the program. For example in Forms and Reports i
think it would be good to state something like "Forms/Reports should be
built from Queries rather than directly from Tables.

That's why I started off with "Overview". It's a sort of placeholder for
what you describe, an intro as you say. True being more compartmentalized,
it will be easier to weed out the changes as they come.

Do you want to take on a chapter?

-- Rick

Jean,

So you don't have any issues with the latest outline? It is just a suggested
outline, of course. The Appendices may be a bit too many, but no one has
said anything about it yet...

I was thinking of churning out a couple of appendices, (C and E) to get used
to the template and overall process again. Should take me a few days, they
aren't that dense. And from there I'll go after Chapter 1.

--Rick

Jean,

So you don't have any issues with the latest outline? It is just a suggested
outline, of course.

No issues at this point, but when I get into it seriously I may well find things to suggest.

--Jean

Hi :slight_smile:
Thanks :slight_smile: Sorry i am "all talk but no trousers".  A classic, sorry
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile: