OpenOffice.org Base

We are creating a database using the open source, free database program called, “Base”, supplied with the OpenOffice.org office suite. This is part of our effort to convert from microsoft office productivity programs to the OpenOffice platform. I am using the “oo” equivalents for documents and spreadsheets exclusively at home but have found converting to ooBase much more difficult. MS Word and MS Excel files convert easily with ooWriter and ooCalc, respectively; this is not the case with MS Access and ooBase; getting a database file developed in Access to open in ooBase takes some doing and fancy supporting utility software, if it can be done at all.

So, since using legacy Access databases in ooBase is problematic, I am now learning how to create a database from scratch in ooBase. This has been a slow process because the graphical user interface in ooBase is just different enough from MS Access to force a more careful approach. I have had to peruse the ‘net to find some tutorials that better explain the steps required; luckily I found some.
One aspect of Access that has made it quite user-friendly for anyone with an understanding of basic relational database structures and the functional aspects of queries, forms, and reports, is the use of wizards. ooBase has some wizards but it will require much more work to add a similar portfolio of wizards as Access.

An example of the learning curve: it took me several hours to determine that a string function in an ooBase query that would be coded in Access as: [fieldname1]&”, “&[fieldname2]

to generate output: fieldname1, fieldname2

is entered in ooBase as: CONCAT(”fieldname1″,’, ‘) + “fieldname2″ to generate the same output