Re: [libreoffice-users] Re: Currently Using Spreadsheet for Personal Project - Thinking About Database

Hey Paul,

First thanks for your thoughts :)


> Well, on the one hand, changing to a database does mean learning
> databases, and putting in a certain amount of time to develop it,
> although you should be able to pull in the data from the spreadsheet.
> There's also no clear gain, if the spreadsheet works for you, what do
> you gain by going to a database? And because databases are a little
> more structured, it means changes are harder to make. On the other
> hand, it does make things a little neater, and more formalised. Keeping
> track of things may be easier, at least mentally.

Neater is exactly what I'm aiming for. Currently it's kind of all over the
place and with me continuously adding things I am always debating where to
put things, how to organize, how to easily view it, etc.. etc... So neater
is a big + for me.

> The point at which one should switch from spreadsheet to database is
> always hard to find. Personally, I would switch with this, but I
> already know databases pretty well, so it would be that much easier for
> me to set up, and I'd probably find it easier to make changes and add
> functionality.
Sure - I like to learn though so if it's not too steep of a learning curve
(again I've used Access a little) then I think with some dedication I could
get it done.

> I find such large spreadsheets unwieldy, because you have to work with
> the actual data, whereas databases you work with the data container,
> and the database applies that to the actual data. Pulling up the
> correct information is simply a matter of writing a simple (for me)
> query, whereas in a spreadsheet you have to manually select the correct
> cells, type in formula to exclude values, etc., etc.

Unwieldy is where I'm at with this thing, and it's only getting worse ;)


> So basically, if it works, why change it? But if you do change to a
> database, you may end up with something that is neater and
> cleaner, meaning that it is easier to find the information in all the
> data, but maybe slightly harder to just change in an ad-hoc kind of
> way, which itself can be both good and bad.

It does indeed work and I'm pretty good with spreadsheets generally but -
well at my old job we had someone who had a 1.5 gig spreadsheet (and it was
absurd) and his logic was the same "it works" - I had a hard time not
saying "it works but it doesn't work RIGHT" - I'm starting to feel like my
spreadsheet doesn't work right (from functionality to organization to me
just being happy with it)

> Just my thoughts. If you do go ahead with the database idea, feel free
> to ping me with further questions when you get into it. I'd be glad to
> help if I can find the time. I know databases pertty well, if not Base
> so well.

I will most definitely take you up on this. I guess my first step would be
a table that just has:
UniqueID
Author
Book Title
Series Name

That sound right? I'm going to start after work today.


Best,
Joel

P.S. I won't lose functionality that I have in spreadsheet when
using database right? Basically everything you can do in a spreadsheet you
can accomplish in a database?
-- 
*Joel Madero*
LibreOffice QA Volunteer
jmadero.dev@gmail.com

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