[libreoffice-users] Re: Connect Base to External HSQLDB

On 11/03/2014 02:23, Mark LaPierre wrote:


Hi Mark,

> So what you are saying is that I can create a LO Base DB that references
> tables stored in the standalone HSQLDB database with the JDBC connector,
> and use that .odb file as a back end to another LO Base DB which acts as
> a front end?  I've read, and been told on this mail list that LO Base
> can't do that.  If I could do that I wouldn't need the standalone
> HSQLDB, just a plain .odb file with some tables in it.


No, you've got the wrong end of the stick, what others have said is correct.

I'll try and simplify :

The file extension ODB is in reality a zipped container. If you rename
the extension to zip (or just right mouse button click on the file) and
then open up the file with file-roller, ark, tar or whatever your
favorite archiver is, then you will see it contains a number of files
and folders. The actual contents vary according to how you have set up
your database connection.

If you are using the default, embedded hsqldb engine, then all of the
data from the database is stored within the ODB container :

Configurations2/
database/
forms/
META-INF/
reports/
content.xml
mimetype
settings.xml

The database folder contains the following files :
backup
data
properties
script

The forms folder contains any forms or subforms you have designed for
that database.

The reports folder contains xml files and Object folders defining any
reports you have designed for that database.

META-INF contains a file called manifest.xml. This is a required
metadata file in order to have a valid (as in, "ODF compliant") ODB
file, so that LO will know it is trying to open an Open Document Format
database file.

As far as I understand it, content.xml is an xml representation of the
content of the database, in other words, it references the db connection
parameters, the db engine type, the different objects to be found within
the rest of the ODB container, including any queries, views, forms, etc
- without this file, your ODB file is just a blank canvas.

As far as I understand it, settings.xml is the xml configuration file
which defines how the Base window looks when you first load the ODB file.

Configurations2 seems to contain spurious other configuration settings,
e.g if you customise the toolbar for your Base file.

If macros are present, these are also stored in a separate folder.


What you are trying to achieve is to not use the embedded hsqldb engine,
so in essence, your ODB container will not have a database folder
because the content.xml file will refer to an outside linked hsqldb
database.

To give you another example, my ODB file which references my Thunderbird
addressbook only contains the following :

META-INF/
content.xml
mimetype
settings.xml

Note that there is no database/ folder because the TB addressbook is an
outside file, and furthermore, read only.

My content.xml file contains (among others) the following xml string
which references the type of db connection I have setup :

<db:data-source><db:connection-data>
<db:connection-resource xlink:href="sdbc:address:thunderbird"/><db:login
db:is-password-required="false"/>
</db:connection-data>
<db:driver-settings db:system-driver-settings="" db:base-dn=""
db:parameter-name-substitution="false"/>
<db:application-connection-settings
db:is-table-name-length-limited="false"
db:append-table-alias-name="false" db:max-row-count="100">

All of this is handled via the db creation wizard code, so usually there
is no need to fiddle with this manually (and I would advise against it,
unless you know what you're doing).


I hope that hasn't confused you any more than necessary ;-)


Alex











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