Re: [libreoffice-users] Re: Base documentation - or the lack of it

Hi :)

i just thought of an easier way of thinking about it.

During a working day you don't really use an Operating System.  You use programs 
and they use the OS.  Documentation about the OS is unlikely to be useful if you 
need help with the program.  Documentation about the program is much more 
useful.  People could be using a completely different OS and still get the same 
results from the same programs.

Similarly with a database program.  You use the database.  Documentation about 
the database itself is useful and tells us what fields need to be entered and so 
on.  The database uses the program to achieve it's results.  Documentation about 
the program does not help us understand why  the particular database is setup to 
not work in a certain way but it might help us re-program the database.  The 
question is do they want to reprogram the database or just use it?

Regards from
Tom :)






________________________________
From: "webmaster@krackedpress.com" <webmaster@krackedpress.com>
To: users@libreoffice.org
Sent: Fri, 28 January, 2011 1:47:25
Subject: Re: [libreoffice-users] Re: Base documentation - or the lack of it

On 01/27/2011 09:05 AM, Alexander Thurgood wrote:
> Le 26/01/11 18:58, webmaster@krackedpress.com a écrit :
>
> Hi,
>
> > I was wondering why it has taken so long for a Base "book"
> > to come out in the documentation.  Not even in version 2.x
> > has one like Writer and Calc, etc..
> Not strictly true, a few links :
>
> http://www.pitonyak.org/database/AndrewBase.pdf
> http://www.pitonyak.org/database/
>
>
> http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/database-programming-with-openofficeorg-base-basic/3568728
> 8
>
>
> Both of these are excellent in my opinion. Bear in mind, for the latter,
> the use of the OOoBasic language to program with Base is a moving target
> unfortunately, and one in which where things that worked say, in 2.x,
> stopped working in 3.0, then worked again in 3.1, worked partly in 3.2
> and then in 3.3 new quirks were discovered...However, the fundamentals
> are there and it really is a very good reference. He also has a site
> dedicated to Base programming :
>
> http://www.baseprogramming.com/resources.html
>
>
> If you read German, there is an excellent book by Thomas Krumbein,
> regularly updated (generally after each new version release) entirely
> dedicated to Base (he has also written books specifically for the other
> main modules).
>
>
> http://www.chapitre.com/CHAPITRE/fr/BOOK/krumbein-thomas/datenbanken-mit-openoffice-org-3-base-und-hsqldb,25063905.aspx
> x
>
>
> And in French :
>
> http://www.editions-eni.fr/Livres/Base-Le-gestionnaire-de-bases-de-donnees-de-OpenOffice-org-3/.6_3a6222cf-b921-41f5-886c-c989f77ba994_ecee104b-5b6c-404d-a6a1-8028758c9b5e_97156302-3b39-4f11-8947-9480dd52bafa_1_0_d9bd8b5e-f324-473f-b1fc-b41b421c950f.html
> l
>
>
> I haven't looked in other languages, but as you can see, there _is_
> documentation available. Additionally, the forums are replete with Base
> tutorials, code snippets, tips and tricks, and several journalists who
> write articles for PC magazines of various flavours have also
> contributed to the wealth of Base knowledge out there. The problem lies
> more in finding everything in one place.
>
> The OpenOffice.org website / wiki also contain a fair amount of
> information about using Base.
>
>
>
> Alex
Well, I just was wondering when I started this thread why as far back
as version 2.x for OOo there was not .odt/.pdf "book" in the list as are
for Writer, Calc, Impress, and Draw.  Even Math has is own document.
But lowly Base was left behind since the 2.x days.

I have not used a database for any real work since dBase IV days and
before that I wrote relational databases in COBOL for a mainframe.
I never learned MS's database even back when I started using its suite
in the early Win 95/98 days.  I never needed it so I never learned it.

But for an outside person, and you get this from a MSO person, there
would be a wonder why should "they" use OOo or LibreO suite, if the
people who write the documentation ignores something as major as
a database package.  What can I tell people who wonder why there is
documentation from OOo and/or LibreO for everything but the
database package?  Why did the document writers not write anything
for Base for several years?  People have asked these types of questions.
They can get MSO documentation, but why should they use OOo/LibreO
if they cannot get the same for "this" office suite.

As I said, I do not use any database package, and it has been a long
time since I needed to use one.  There has to be document writers
that use Base, or Base users that could write something that can be
edited by experienced document writers.



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