ALE CENTRAL MTG. for Thursday, August 21, 2008
Our Featured Presentation for the
Thursday, August 21st, 7:30pm
ALE Central meeting will be
“Using OpenOffice & Base with External Databases”
— or —
“Poking a Lance at Micro$oft Abscess”
presented by James Kinney
Synopsis:
— OpenOffice.org BASE is the database module initially released with OpenOffice.org version 2.0 and, for simple single user applications, it is currently on the HSQLDB database engine written in Java. However, BASE also has native drivers allowing OpenOffice.org users to connect to external full-featured SQL database servers such as MySQL, PostgreSQL and even Oracle through ODBC or JDBC drivers. OpenOffice.org BASE can hence act as a GUI front end for SQL views, table design and query. In addition, OpenOffice.org has its own Form wizard to create dialog windows for form filling and updates. Our presentation will be looking at some of the ways these OpenOffice BASE connections to external databases can be implemented and utilized for both single user applications and in a multi-user local network environment.
(reference Wikipedia entry on OOo Base)
Bio:
— James has been a Linux user since 1993 (Go Slackware!) and a raving loon about open source ever since. He masquerades by day as a Linux admin to support his hardware acquisition addiction. Outside of work, James spends countless hours tinkering with Linux systems in between long bouts of Linux software testing and researching things to do with Linux systems. He has been known to carry Fedora DVD’s into places that sell computers and give them to innocent bystanders while lecturing about how they should be using Linux and not the other stuff. Occasionally, James brews beer and organizes gatherings of beer drinkers around Linux topics. He is actively involved in working to displace other computer platforms in schools as a founding member of Georgia Open Source Education Foundation (gosef.org) and works with community groups such as Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Clarkston Community Center to set up Linux thin client systems to support these groups need for reliable, low cost computing platforms for social support.
— James claims to have a family life as well, one where he is (mostly) tolerated by his wonderful wife, (often) dismissed by his teenage daughter and (usually) worshiped by his pre-teen super-geeky son. In addition to helping feed those mouths, he also feeds a collection of 4 legged creatures that bark or meow and a small orange thing that swims in a tiny tank of water. Of course, his additional claim to a also having stand up comedy career is dubious at best.
Links:
OpenOffice.org BASE page
Tech Tip on curing an Abscess data base by importing to OpenOffice.org BASE
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We will be meeting in our usual Gambrel Hall room 1C venue.
Meeting time frame is 7:30pm to ~9:30pm
Directions to Emory Law School can be found
HERE (or via the side bar link).