[GRLUG] OpenOffice.org as Access replacement

[Michael Mol]

Back when I was taking a database class at Ferris, I tried using OO.org 
Base to create a prototype for what I needed to put in DB2. Not a 
functional prototype, just a GUI visualization of the tables and 
relationships.

Without even getting to the "run a query" state of things, I had Base 
crash a rather large number of times. That left a bad taste in my mouth. 
  However, all that was three-four years ago, and they may have fixed 
things up since then.

Just about every general programming language has database bindings 
these days.  If all you want is something that could be serviced by 
Access, pick a language you're familiar with and use its DB bindings to 
put your data into an SQLite back-end. (SQLite can be more or less 
summarized as a single-program database that runs within your process 
and saves your data to a file on disk.)  SQLite itself is 
cross-platform; It's used in Firefox, a variety of programs on my Linux 
desktop at home, and we use it as a processing engine in a diagnostics 
analyzer Windows app we built at work.


SQLite is written for C, but there are bindings for a large number of 
languages.

Some resources:
http://www.sqlite.org/

(To see how it may be done natively in a particular language.  Pity 
there's no Python there yet.)
http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Parameterized_SQL_Statement

(If you feel inclined to try accessing the SQLte library directly from a 
non-C/C++ language.)
http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Call_foreign_language_function

On 1/15/2010 8:04 AM, Benjamin Flanders wrote:
> I'm looking at creating a simple database with a front end.  Nothing
> fancy just want to keep track of a board game that I play.  Has anyone
> used OO.org Base and has any tips, or where to look for documentation,
> any good books?
>
> I assume it would should be written in Starbasic, but googling it, I
> see you can use many languages.  Not being proficient in any of them
> (including Starbasic), would it be better to learn , say, python and
> the Uno interfaces, then to write it in Starbasic?
>
> Should I skip using OO.org Base and instead look into another
> solution?  I would like to learn something cross platform so I could
> do projects for work as well.
>
> Any ideas would be appreciated.
>
> Share and Enjoy
> Ben
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