Re: [libreoffice-users] Re: Writing programs for Base

Andreas

On Thu, 2011-08-25 at 12:08 -0700, Andreas Säger wrote: 

> You are right. It is a mere frontend. Mainly it is a bridge between tabular
> data and office document. Tabular data include address books from various
> mail clients, csv, dBase, spreadsheets and all kinds of databases via ODBC,
> JDBC or some built-in driver (SDBC). When the mail merge wizard creates a
> serial letter for you it creates a Base document even when you specify a
> spreadsheet list as address source.
> In OOo 2.0 they invented the infamous "integrated database document" which
> includes a http://hsqldb.org of version 1.8 zipped into the Base document,
> installed every time you "open the database document" and repackaged every
> time you "close the database document". No need to say that this database is
> a pain in the ass, particularly when it trashes your precious data.
> Base connected with some mature external database (and hsqldb is not a bad
> choice) is a simple database frontend if you are aware that "simple" may be
> the opposite of "easy". The main data flow goes from databases to office
> documents.

+1 on simple and easy 

> You can attach simplistic input forms to office documents in order to send
> data the other way from the office to the database.
> Normally, I do not need any macros at all.
> Your requirement for updating a databse from csv has not so much to do with
> a database frontend. Of course you can do this programmatically with some
> database frontend. Writing such frontend animal will be a horror trip for
> sure. MS Access is much better prepared for such things and Steve Edmonds
> already confirmed the backend story from a professional point of view. Some
> database, some data, some scripting language, no office monster. When work
> is done load the results into pretty reports, spreadsheet models, even
> presentation tables can receive database data.
>
> In my previous answer I outlined a non-programmatic way how to do such
> things in the Base user interface without a single line of code but with a
> little bit of setup and a few more clicks for each import.
>
> --
> View this message in context: 
> http://nabble.documentfoundation.org/Writing-programs-for-Base-tp3283165p3284790.html
> Sent from the Users mailing list archive at Nabble.com.



-- 
Jay Lozier
jslozier@gmail.com

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