Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[R Smith]

On 2017/11/15 11:56 PM, Simon Slavin wrote:
You are locking yourself into the Windows system. By all means use 
this solution as a prototype but if you ever find yourself saying "I’m 
now doing serious programming." do what you can to escape Windows, 
Office, and Visual-*. Otherwise you will continue to be a niche 
programmer with a very small niche, subject to panics every time your 
users upgrade their versions of Windows and Office.

Simon.


While I'm with you on the virtues of multi-platform environments and 
would like to urge the OP on in that regard too, I'm going to have to 
also nitpick on that statement's accuracy - while it may hold for /some/ 
Office-VB scripts, for most other Visual-* systems[1] that compile 
Windows .exe files, it's simply not true.


An exe you make today will be compatible and still run on the majority 
of Windows computers long after chickens grew teeth. Things designed in 
the 90's are still used today (I mean I wish people wouldn't use it, but 
they do). Never did I lose any sleep past all the hundreds of upgrades 
Windows had in that time, or woke up one day to find system X is no 
longer functioning (and this has actually happened lots on other 
platforms, PHP being the worst - anyone still remember mysql_xxx() 
functions [without the i]?).


And please understand me well, I'm not praising Windows for this, quite 
the opposite - One of my (and other-people's) main gripes with Windows 
is the stupid insistence on being so overly backward compatible that so 
much legacy API clunk up the core so that it can never match GUI 
intensive apps on other platforms, or use workarounds to allow old apps 
that were not made for the current security layers to still function 
(I'm looking at you "Windows Virtualization"). If your App was made for 
Apple/Android/Linux and it still tried non-conformant things in API 
security terms after security upgrades, it would just no longer work 
and, at a minimum, require a recompile (and rightly so! that's the 
entire point of security upgrades).


So no, I'm not a fan of how Windows does it, BUT, it does mean that it 
is extremely backward compatible, and saying that making something 
on/for a Windows platform makes you a "niche" programmer or gives you 
reason to panic when upgrades happen, is wholly unfair and just not true.


I don't have specific figures now, but I think in terms of desktop 
applications, Windows still outrank every other platform 50 to 1 in 
sheer volume of available apps and same holds for sheer number of users.


In fact, it's quite horribly banal - the very opposite of a niche.

Cheers,
Ryan
PS: I wish Windows dev teams were as efficient as their marketing teams 
- what a great World that would be!



[1] Including but not limited to: VB, VB.Net, Visual C, Visual C++, etc.


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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Balaji Ramanathan]

Thank you, Peter.  Perhaps it would be a good idea to update the SQLite
website and point links to tcl.tk rather than tcl-lang.org.

Balaji Ramanathan

-- Forwarded message --
From: Peter Da Silva <peter.dasi...@flightaware.com>
To: SQLite mailing list <sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org>
Cc:
Bcc:
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2017 13:11:56 +0000
Subject: Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end
I contacted the Tcl core team and this is the response from Steve Landers:

> tcl-lang.org was a temporary measure a few years ago when the .tk DNS
went missing.  It wasn’t advertised but I guess it is now.

> I’ve fixed it

The official site is still at tcl.tk.
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Chris Locke]

> For now, I am going to start
> with a windows forms application in vb.net or forms in OpenOffice.

I'd install SharpDevelop (
http://www.icsharpcode.net/opensource/sd/Default.aspx).  Download v4.4 if
you plan on using VB.Net, as the newer v5 doesn't support VB - only C#.
SharpDevelop is a 15 MB download, not a 4.6 GB download of Visual Studio.
I primarily write database apps using SQLite and VB.Net, so have a nice
database class 'wrapper', depending on your database skills... and what you
plan on building.
Happy to blog a beginners guide and whisk you along a SQLite coding journey.

As previously 'warned', it is a Windows only environment, so if you have
Linux friends, they won't be able to view your creations.  However,
building applications is quick and easy but immensely rewarding.  I love my
job.


Thanks,
Chris


On Wed, Nov 15, 2017 at 8:16 PM, Balaji Ramanathan <
balaji.ramanat...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Thank you very much for all your suggestions.  For now, I am going to start
> with a windows forms application in vb.net or forms in OpenOffice.  Tcl/Tk
> is a steeper learning curve, and if someone can point me to some good
> resources that will walk a beginner through the development of a windows
> GUI on that platform, I would appreciate it.  Thank you again.
>
> Balaji Ramanathan
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Simon Slavin]

On 15 Nov 2017, at 8:16pm, Balaji Ramanathan  
wrote:

> Thank you very much for all your suggestions.  For now, I am going to start
> with a windows forms application in vb.net or forms in OpenOffice. 

You are locking yourself into the Windows system.  By all means use this 
solution as a prototype but if you ever find yourself saying "I’m now doing 
serious programming." do what you can to escape Windows, Office, and Visual-*.  
Otherwise you will continue to be a niche programmer with a very small niche, 
subject to panics every time your users upgrade their versions of Windows and 
Office.

Simon.
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Richard Hipp]

On 11/15/17, Peter Da Silva  wrote:
> Tk is platform independent, so long as you don’t do UNIX-specific stuff (eg,
> assume UNIX file paths and stuff) any Tk app should work just fine on
> Windows.

A majority of the SQLite source code and also the Fossil SCM source
code (those parts written by me, which is the majority in both cases)
was composed in a cross-platform text editor that is written in
Tcl/Tk, based on the text widget.  The same TclTk source file runs on
linux, mac, and windows.  I've used that same editor for two decades,
now and then updating it for this or that new feature that I find
useful.

SQLite began life as a Tcl extension that only later escaped into the
wild.  That's why most of the test cases for SQLite are written in
Tcl, why "tclsh" is required to build from canonical sources, why the
Tcl language bindings are built in, why SQLite accept parameters that
look like Tcl language variables, and why SQLite uses flexible typing
and does not require explicit data types on columns.

There is a new book out on Tcl by Ashok Nadkarni.  See
http://wiki.tcl.tk/48868 for details.  I have not read it myself, but
people I trust tell me that it is good.
-- 
D. Richard Hipp
d...@sqlite.org
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Igor Korot]

Take a look at wx{Phoenix, Python}.
It is much simpler, written in python, supports all its versions, and
there demos and samples on its website - www.wxpython.org

Thank you.

On Wed, Nov 15, 2017 at 2:32 PM, Peter Da Silva
 wrote:
> Tk is platform independent, so long as you don’t do UNIX-specific stuff (eg, 
> assume UNIX file paths and stuff) any Tk app should work just fine on 
> Windows. You may need to tweak the fonts, eg:
>
> if { $tcl_platform(platform) eq "windows" } { set font {Arial} } else { 
> set font {Helvetica} }
>
> Have a look at the examples at https://wiki.tcl.tk/4149
>
>
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Peter Da Silva]

Tk is platform independent, so long as you don’t do UNIX-specific stuff (eg, 
assume UNIX file paths and stuff) any Tk app should work just fine on Windows. 
You may need to tweak the fonts, eg:

if { $tcl_platform(platform) eq "windows" } { set font {Arial} } else { set 
font {Helvetica} }

Have a look at the examples at https://wiki.tcl.tk/4149


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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Balaji Ramanathan]

Thank you very much for all your suggestions.  For now, I am going to start
with a windows forms application in vb.net or forms in OpenOffice.  Tcl/Tk
is a steeper learning curve, and if someone can point me to some good
resources that will walk a beginner through the development of a windows
GUI on that platform, I would appreciate it.  Thank you again.

Balaji Ramanathan
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Peter Da Silva]

On 11/14/17, 10:32 PM, "sqlite-users on behalf of J Decker" 
 
wrote:
> Initially I was interested in tcl/tk, and still am, but I'm not sure about 
> the tcl/tk packaging that would be necessary to make use on multiple 
> computers.

You can bundle a whole Tcl application in a single executable called a 
“starkit” along with all the necessary packages and libraries exposed 
internally as a virtual file system.

> Also, I don't know how network database connections would work out, would it 
> be the same as web based stuff or more complicated, etc.

For sqlite you don’t generally make network database connections, it uses a 
library model. For other databases there’s a number of conventional script 
interfaces. DBI is popular for cross-database use: 
https://core.tcl.tk/jenglish/gutter/packages/dbi.html and I’m currently 
maintainer for the original PostgreSQL-Tcl interface 
https://wiki.tcl-lang.org/13016 ...

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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Peter Da Silva]

I contacted the Tcl core team and this is the response from Steve Landers:

> tcl-lang.org was a temporary measure a few years ago when the .tk DNS went 
> missing.  It wasn’t advertised but I guess it is now.

> I’ve fixed it

The official site is still at tcl.tk.

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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[J Decker]

On Tue, Nov 14, 2017 at 8:14 PM, jungle boogie 
wrote:

> Thus said J Decker on Tue, 14 Nov 2017 13:35:55 -0800
>
>> I'll throw my 2 cents in...
>>
>> A Node.js server, and use a web frontend, or electron/nwjs which are
>> browsers that include node, and can be standalone apps.
>>
>>
> Funny you should mention that. I've been looking at node.js and curious
> how sqlite would be implemented. Can you recommend a npm package for it?
> Have you implemented something in node with sqlite?
>
> I use my own package ... sqlite is available in
https://www.npmjs.com/package/sack.vfs#sqlite-interface with a very simple
interface. no promises callbacks or other complications.


> This one is quite active on github and on the npmjs site:
> https://github.com/sequelize/sequelize
>
> Initially I was interested in tcl/tk, and still am, but I'm not sure about
> the tcl/tk packaging that would be necessary to make use on multiple
> computers. Also, I don't know how network database connections would work
> out, would it be the same as web based stuff or more complicated, etc.
>
>
> Thanks,
> j.b.
>
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Simon Slavin]

On 15 Nov 2017, at 4:14am, jungle boogie  wrote:

> Funny you should mention that. I've been looking at node.js and curious how 
> sqlite would be implemented. Can you recommend a npm package for it?

SQLite is implemented as promises, allowing it to be programmed as if the 
commands are being executed asynchronously.





If you aren’t already used to programming with sqlite3, try the "better:=" one.

Simon.
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[jungle boogie]

Thus said J Decker on Tue, 14 Nov 2017 13:35:55 -0800

I'll throw my 2 cents in...

A Node.js server, and use a web frontend, or electron/nwjs which are
browsers that include node, and can be standalone apps.



Funny you should mention that. I've been looking at node.js and curious 
how sqlite would be implemented. Can you recommend a npm package for it?

Have you implemented something in node with sqlite?

This one is quite active on github and on the npmjs site:
https://github.com/sequelize/sequelize

Initially I was interested in tcl/tk, and still am, but I'm not sure 
about the tcl/tk packaging that would be necessary to make use on 
multiple computers. Also, I don't know how network database connections 
would work out, would it be the same as web based stuff or more 
complicated, etc.



Thanks,
j.b.
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Igor Korot]

Hi,
Did you look at wxPython (or wxPhoenix)?
It was recenty saw a new release..
Thank you.

On Tue, Nov 14, 2017 at 3:39 PM, Peter Da Silva
 wrote:
> On 11/14/17, 3:33 PM, "sqlite-users on behalf of Balaji Ramanathan" 
>  balaji.ramanat...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I am leaning towards tcl/tk given the endorsement from both Peter and DRH. 
>> So, I downloaded tcl/tk version 8.6.7 from magicsplat 
>> (http://www.magicsplat.com/tcl-installer/index.html), and then ran 
>> tclsh.exe.  In the resulting command window, I typed "sqlite3 db1 > my sqlite database" as instructed on this page on the sqlite website: 
>> https://sqlite.org/tclsqlite.html .  And all I got was "invalid command name 
>> sqlite3".  So, I am stuck.  What did I do wrong?
>
> % package require sqlite3
> 3.20.1
> % sqlite3 db1 :memory:
> %
>
>> BTW, the www.tcl-lang.org website has been down for at least the past 3 days 
>> it looks like.  Not sure how to interpret the reliability of a technology 
>> whose home website is down for days at a time.
>
> Try https://www.tcl.tk/ ?
>
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Peter Da Silva]

On 11/14/17, 3:33 PM, "sqlite-users on behalf of Balaji Ramanathan" 
 wrote:
> I am leaning towards tcl/tk given the endorsement from both Peter and DRH. 
> So, I downloaded tcl/tk version 8.6.7 from magicsplat 
> (http://www.magicsplat.com/tcl-installer/index.html), and then ran tclsh.exe. 
>  In the resulting command window, I typed "sqlite3 db1  database" as instructed on this page on the sqlite website: 
> https://sqlite.org/tclsqlite.html .  And all I got was "invalid command name 
> sqlite3".  So, I am stuck.  What did I do wrong?

% package require sqlite3
3.20.1
% sqlite3 db1 :memory:
%

> BTW, the www.tcl-lang.org website has been down for at least the past 3 days 
> it looks like.  Not sure how to interpret the reliability of a technology 
> whose home website is down for days at a time.

Try https://www.tcl.tk/ ? 

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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[J Decker]

I'll throw my 2 cents in...

A Node.js server, and use a web frontend, or electron/nwjs which are
browsers that include node, and can be standalone apps.

On Tue, Nov 14, 2017 at 1:33 PM, Balaji Ramanathan <
balaji.ramanat...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Thank you everyone for your suggestions.
>
> Looked at Xojo.  Not sure if the free version will stick around.  And there
> is no way to save and reuse reports from one session to another in the free
> version.  Creating and recreating the report every time is going to become
> tedious very soon.
>
> Continuing to use Access as a front end and connecting to my db using odbc
> is definitely an option.  I wanted to move away fully from Access, so I am
> going to keep that as a backup option.
>
> I am leaning towards tcl/tk given the endorsement from both Peter and DRH.
> So, I downloaded tcl/tk version 8.6.7 from magicsplat (
> http://www.magicsplat.com/tcl-installer/index.html), and then ran
> tclsh.exe.  In the resulting command window, I typed "sqlite3 db1  my sqlite database" as instructed on this page on the sqlite website:
> https://sqlite.org/tclsqlite.html .  And all I got was "invalid command
> name sqlite3".  So, I am stuck.  What did I do wrong?
>
> BTW, the www.tcl-lang.org website has been down for at least the past 3
> days it looks like.  Not sure how to interpret the reliability of a
> technology whose home website is down for days at a time.
>
> Balaji Ramanathan
>
> On Tue, Nov 14, 2017 at 6:00 AM, <
> sqlite-users-requ...@mailinglists.sqlite.org> wrote:
>
> >
> > -- Forwarded message --
> > From: Peter Da Silva <peter.dasi...@flightaware.com>
> > To: SQLite mailing list <sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org>
> > Cc:
> > Bcc:
> > Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 22:03:34 +
> > Subject: Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end
> > Since sqlite originated as a Tcl extension it’s got excellent Tcl
> > bindings, and Tcl has an excellent platform-independent GUI in Tk, so it
> > seems to me that would be the best and simplest way to create a GUI front
> > end for sqlite.
> >
> >
> >
> > ------ Forwarded message ----------
> > From: Richard Hipp <d...@sqlite.org>
> > To: SQLite mailing list <sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org>
> > Cc:
> > Bcc:
> > Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 17:06:20 -0500
> > Subject: Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end
> > On 11/13/17, Peter Da Silva <peter.dasi...@flightaware.com> wrote:
> > > Since sqlite originated as a Tcl extension it’s got excellent Tcl
> > bindings,
> > > and Tcl has an excellent platform-independent GUI in Tk, so it seems to
> > me
> > > that would be the best and simplest way to create a GUI front end for
> > > sqlite.
> >
> > +1
> >
> > --
> > D. Richard Hipp
> > d...@sqlite.org
> >
> >
> >
> > -- Forwarded message --
> > From: Tim Streater <t...@clothears.org.uk>
> > To: SQLite mailing list <sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org>
> > Cc:
> > Bcc:
> > Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 22:22:29 +
> > Subject: Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end
> > On 13 Nov 2017, at 21:54, Balaji Ramanathan <balaji.ramanat...@gmail.com
> >
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Is there a third party free tool like MS Access that would allow me
> > to
> > > connect to a SQLite db in the back-end and enable me to create a custom
> > > front-end to it with forms and reports?  All my searches for this kind
> of
> > > tool only lead me to tools like SqliteStudio, which is a GUI front end
> > for
> > > SQLite, but not a programmable one like I want.  If anyone can point me
> > > towards a programmable GUI front-end development tool (preferrably
> > > open-source, but just free and well-maintained is sufficient), I would
> > > appreciate it greatly.
> >
> > There is Xojo (www.xojo.com) which has SQLite built in and has reports
> > (which I have never used). It's cross-platform and you create your own
> GUI
> > front end with windows, buttons etc. It's free to use for development,
> but
> > if you want to compile and build a stand-alone application (.exe or .app)
> > then you buy a licence. There is a Lite licence to build for one platform
> > which is not a high cost.
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Cheers  --  Tim
> >
> >
> > -- Forwarded message --
> > From: Bart Smissaert <bart.smissa...@gmail.com>
> > To: SQLi

Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Balaji Ramanathan]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

Looked at Xojo.  Not sure if the free version will stick around.  And there
is no way to save and reuse reports from one session to another in the free
version.  Creating and recreating the report every time is going to become
tedious very soon.

Continuing to use Access as a front end and connecting to my db using odbc
is definitely an option.  I wanted to move away fully from Access, so I am
going to keep that as a backup option.

I am leaning towards tcl/tk given the endorsement from both Peter and DRH.
So, I downloaded tcl/tk version 8.6.7 from magicsplat (
http://www.magicsplat.com/tcl-installer/index.html), and then ran
tclsh.exe.  In the resulting command window, I typed "sqlite3 db1 https://sqlite.org/tclsqlite.html .  And all I got was "invalid command
name sqlite3".  So, I am stuck.  What did I do wrong?

BTW, the www.tcl-lang.org website has been down for at least the past 3
days it looks like.  Not sure how to interpret the reliability of a
technology whose home website is down for days at a time.

Balaji Ramanathan

On Tue, Nov 14, 2017 at 6:00 AM, <
sqlite-users-requ...@mailinglists.sqlite.org> wrote:

>
> -- Forwarded message --
> From: Peter Da Silva <peter.dasi...@flightaware.com>
> To: SQLite mailing list <sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 22:03:34 +0000
> Subject: Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end
> Since sqlite originated as a Tcl extension it’s got excellent Tcl
> bindings, and Tcl has an excellent platform-independent GUI in Tk, so it
> seems to me that would be the best and simplest way to create a GUI front
> end for sqlite.
>
>
>
> -- Forwarded message --
> From: Richard Hipp <d...@sqlite.org>
> To: SQLite mailing list <sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 17:06:20 -0500
> Subject: Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end
> On 11/13/17, Peter Da Silva <peter.dasi...@flightaware.com> wrote:
> > Since sqlite originated as a Tcl extension it’s got excellent Tcl
> bindings,
> > and Tcl has an excellent platform-independent GUI in Tk, so it seems to
> me
> > that would be the best and simplest way to create a GUI front end for
> > sqlite.
>
> +1
>
> --
> D. Richard Hipp
> d...@sqlite.org
>
>
>
> -- Forwarded message ------
> From: Tim Streater <t...@clothears.org.uk>
> To: SQLite mailing list <sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 22:22:29 +
> Subject: Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end
> On 13 Nov 2017, at 21:54, Balaji Ramanathan <balaji.ramanat...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Is there a third party free tool like MS Access that would allow me
> to
> > connect to a SQLite db in the back-end and enable me to create a custom
> > front-end to it with forms and reports?  All my searches for this kind of
> > tool only lead me to tools like SqliteStudio, which is a GUI front end
> for
> > SQLite, but not a programmable one like I want.  If anyone can point me
> > towards a programmable GUI front-end development tool (preferrably
> > open-source, but just free and well-maintained is sufficient), I would
> > appreciate it greatly.
>
> There is Xojo (www.xojo.com) which has SQLite built in and has reports
> (which I have never used). It's cross-platform and you create your own GUI
> front end with windows, buttons etc. It's free to use for development, but
> if you want to compile and build a stand-alone application (.exe or .app)
> then you buy a licence. There is a Lite licence to build for one platform
> which is not a high cost.
>
>
>
> --
> Cheers  --  Tim
>
>
> -- Forwarded message --
> From: Bart Smissaert <bart.smissa...@gmail.com>
> To: SQLite mailing list <sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org>
> Cc:
> Bcc:
> Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 23:52:18 +
> Subject: Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end
> As you are familiar with VBA I can see two other options:
>
> 1. Use Christian Werner's ODBC driver from Access (or Excel):
> http://www.ch-werner.de/sqliteodbc/
>
> 2. Use Olaf Schmidt's COM dll with Access (or Excel):
> http://www.vbrichclient.com/#/en/About/
>
> RBS
>
>
>
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[dmp]

> Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2017 15:54:42 -0600
> From: Balaji Ramanathan 
> To: sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org
> Subject: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end
>
> Hi,
>
> I have been using SQLite without any programming language so far.  I
> maintain the data in 
> ~
> ~
> ~
> Is there a third party free tool like MS Access that would allow me to
> connect to a SQLite db in the back-end and enable me to create a custom
> front-end to it with forms and reports?  All my searches for this kind of
>  tool only lead me to tools like SqliteStudio, which is a GUI front end
> for SQLite, but not a programmable one like I want.  If anyone can point
> me towards a programmable GUI front-end development tool (preferrably
> open-source, but just free and well-maintained is sufficient), I would
> appreciate it greatly.
>
> Thank you very much.
> Balaji Ramanathan

Hello,

I have several times posted, indicating the release of my database GUI,
Ajqvue. It is a well maintained, mature open source project that was
started in 2005 then renamed in 2016, because of a cease-desist from
Oracle.

The project language is in Java and was started on Sourceforge and is
now hosted on GitHub.

https://github.com/danap/ajqvue

Ajqvue is a framework that so happens to have as its main plugin a
database interface. The interface is more in line with a spreadsheet
application rather than a tree db/table selector display, with a manual
query entry form. The database interface is JDBC, which most of the
databases have available. For SQLite I have been using:

https://github.com/xerial/sqlite-jdbc

Ajqvue comes with several additional plugins for analysis, and plotting.
I believe the most versatile aspect of Ajqvue though is the ability
through the Query Bucket to save composed SQL queries. Those queries
can then be dragged/dropped into plugins to allow data processing.

A plugin of a custom form should be relatively easy to create if you
know Java. There is a tutorial available on the documentation page
of the site along with videos demonstrating the desktop application.
Once a plugin is created it can be sourced locally, LAN, or on the
Internet.

If you do create a plugin GUI I recommend Swing over JavaFX. I have
had issues on various, Linux platforms with JavaFX and just switched
the charting plugin from JavaFX to JFreeChart.

Dana Proctor
Ajqvue Project Manager
http://ajqvue.com


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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Warren Young]

On Nov 13, 2017, at 2:54 PM, Balaji Ramanathan  
wrote:
> 
> In the past, I have maintained my data in an Access database

That’s the sort of application that the open source world just is not very good 
at recreating.  F/OSS people hear “database” and think SQLite or Postgres or 
MySQL, which is not at all the same thing as Access or FileMaker Pro.  The 
F/OSS world is disproportionately populated by developers; they think, “why 
would I want a GUI builder and a simplified scripting engine for a database?”

Yes, I’m painting with broad strokes here.  I’ve written multiple 
database-based applications in the past using both the F/OSS DBMSes listed 
above and FileMaker Pro *and* ye olde Borland Paradox.  I think there’s a place 
for both kinds of “database,” but the F/OSS world doesn’t seem to want to spend 
many resources on the latter sort.

I’ve just done some Googling, and have come up with two poor alternatives:

   http://kexi-project.org/
   https://www.libreoffice.org/discover/base/

The primary problem with Kexi is that it’s tied into KDE, and hence isn’t 
easily portable to Windows and macOS.  You have to port over huge chunks of KDE 
to get it to work, so few people bother, hence the ports wither and die.  So, 
if you can run on Linux or run a Linux VM on your host, it may do fine for you. 
 Otherwise, you probably can’t use it.

The primary problem with Base is that it’s Java-based, which means it only 
works with the embedded Java HSQLDB library or with DBMSes it can connect to 
externally via client-server APIs or shims like JBDC and ODBC.  That makes it 
difficult to use with SQLite.  Not impossible, but certainly not as easy as, 
say, MySQL.  It’s probably your best bet if you want something like Access for 
free (both senses) and can give up on the SQLite requirement.

>I am familiar with programming in C and Java, but none of my
> programming has been for the windows platform (except for the programming
> inside MS Access, which was done in VBA).  I have never developed GUI front
> ends with forms, buttons, etc.

The others’ recommendations for Tcl/Tk isn’t too bad.  Tk is uncommonly easy to 
write GUIs with.  The only easier *programmatic* method for building a GUI is 
HTML and its imitators.  (Adobe Flex, Microsoft XAML, etc.)

The main problem with Tk GUIs is that they tend not to look “native,” even if 
you use the new “themed Tk” widgets available since Tk 8.5: 

http://www.tkdocs.com/resources/backgrounder.html

Additionally, Tcl is a brain-bender of a language.  It is not much like any 
other programming language.  It’s vaguely like a Lisp-flavored C shell, but it 
takes an experienced eye to make even that tenuous connection.  Expect a 
learning curve.

I’m glad I learned Tcl, long ago, because it broke my mold of what a 
programming language had to be.  It’s therefore worth doing even if you never 
touch Tcl again after learning it.
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Drago, William @ CSG - NARDA-MITEQ]

> > This will work with any .NET/Visual Studio language (C#/F#/VB):
>
> Not sure this will work with VBA though.
> VB .NET is very different from VBA (or VB6), so that won't be that easy,
> unless I am missing something.
>
> RBS

It's not that hard to go from VBA to VB .NET. The part I failed to explain is 
that is does require a transition from one to the other.

-Bill
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Donald Griggs]

Regarding:


*1. Use Christian Werner's ODBC driver from Access (or Excel):*
*http://www.ch-werner.de/sqliteodbc/* 

If you prefer an open solution to Excel or Access, you may want to pair
Werner's ODBC driver with LibreOffice Base or Calc.

http://www.libreoffice.org/

I've only glanced at the advice below, but it's likely reasonable:

> https://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/How_Tos/
> Using_SQLite_With_OpenOffice.org#Under_Windows
>
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Bart Smissaert]

> This will work with any .NET/Visual Studio language (C#/F#/VB):

Not sure this will work with VBA though.
VB .NET is very different from VBA (or VB6), so that won't be that easy,
unless I am missing something.

RBS

On Tue, Nov 14, 2017 at 4:09 PM, Drago, William @ CSG - NARDA-MITEQ <
william.dr...@l3t.com> wrote:

> > -Original Message-
> > From: sqlite-users [mailto:sqlite-users-boun...@mailinglists.sqlite.org]
> On
> > Behalf Of Bart Smissaert
> > Sent: Monday, November 13, 2017 6:52 PM
> > To: SQLite mailing list <sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org>
> > Subject: Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end
> >
> > As you are familiar with VBA I can see two other options:
> >
> > 1. Use Christian Werner's ODBC driver from Access (or Excel):
> > http://www.ch-werner.de/sqliteodbc/
> >
> > 2. Use Olaf Schmidt's COM dll with Access (or Excel):
> > http://www.vbrichclient.com/#/en/About/
> >
> > RBS
>
> Better yet, use the official SQLite provider for the .NET languages. This
> will work with any .NET/Visual Studio language (C#/F#/VB):
>
> http://system.data.sqlite.org/
>
> Building GUI apps with Visual Studio is very easy, and you can get the
> community edition of Visual Studio for free.
>
> https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/community/
>
> --
> Bill Drago
> Staff Engineer
> L3 Narda-MITEQ
> 435 Moreland Road
> Hauppauge, NY 11788
> 631-272-5947 / william.dr...@l3t.com
> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email and any attachments are for the sole
> use of the intended recipient and may contain material that is proprietary,
> confidential, privileged or otherwise legally protected or restricted under
> applicable government laws. Any review, disclosure, distributing or other
> use without expressed permission of the sender is strictly prohibited. If
> you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and delete
> all copies without reading, printing, or saving.
>
> Beginning April 1, 2018, L3 Technologies, Inc. will discontinue the use of
> all @L-3Com.com email addresses. To ensure delivery of your messages to
> this recipient, please update your records to use william.dr...@l3t.com.
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Don V Nielsen]

Ruby on Rails

On Tue, Nov 14, 2017 at 10:09 AM, Drago, William @ CSG - NARDA-MITEQ <
william.dr...@l3t.com> wrote:

> > -Original Message-
> > From: sqlite-users [mailto:sqlite-users-boun...@mailinglists.sqlite.org]
> On
> > Behalf Of Bart Smissaert
> > Sent: Monday, November 13, 2017 6:52 PM
> > To: SQLite mailing list <sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org>
> > Subject: Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end
> >
> > As you are familiar with VBA I can see two other options:
> >
> > 1. Use Christian Werner's ODBC driver from Access (or Excel):
> > http://www.ch-werner.de/sqliteodbc/
> >
> > 2. Use Olaf Schmidt's COM dll with Access (or Excel):
> > http://www.vbrichclient.com/#/en/About/
> >
> > RBS
>
> Better yet, use the official SQLite provider for the .NET languages. This
> will work with any .NET/Visual Studio language (C#/F#/VB):
>
> http://system.data.sqlite.org/
>
> Building GUI apps with Visual Studio is very easy, and you can get the
> community edition of Visual Studio for free.
>
> https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/community/
>
> --
> Bill Drago
> Staff Engineer
> L3 Narda-MITEQ
> 435 Moreland Road
> Hauppauge, NY 11788
> 631-272-5947 / william.dr...@l3t.com
> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email and any attachments are for the sole
> use of the intended recipient and may contain material that is proprietary,
> confidential, privileged or otherwise legally protected or restricted under
> applicable government laws. Any review, disclosure, distributing or other
> use without expressed permission of the sender is strictly prohibited. If
> you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and delete
> all copies without reading, printing, or saving.
>
> Beginning April 1, 2018, L3 Technologies, Inc. will discontinue the use of
> all @L-3Com.com email addresses. To ensure delivery of your messages to
> this recipient, please update your records to use william.dr...@l3t.com.
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Drago, William @ CSG - NARDA-MITEQ]

> -Original Message-
> From: sqlite-users [mailto:sqlite-users-boun...@mailinglists.sqlite.org] On
> Behalf Of Bart Smissaert
> Sent: Monday, November 13, 2017 6:52 PM
> To: SQLite mailing list <sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org>
> Subject: Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end
>
> As you are familiar with VBA I can see two other options:
>
> 1. Use Christian Werner's ODBC driver from Access (or Excel):
> http://www.ch-werner.de/sqliteodbc/
>
> 2. Use Olaf Schmidt's COM dll with Access (or Excel):
> http://www.vbrichclient.com/#/en/About/
>
> RBS

Better yet, use the official SQLite provider for the .NET languages. This will 
work with any .NET/Visual Studio language (C#/F#/VB):

http://system.data.sqlite.org/

Building GUI apps with Visual Studio is very easy, and you can get the 
community edition of Visual Studio for free.

https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/community/

--
Bill Drago
Staff Engineer
L3 Narda-MITEQ
435 Moreland Road
Hauppauge, NY 11788
631-272-5947 / william.dr...@l3t.com
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without expressed permission of the sender is strictly prohibited. If you are 
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Bart Smissaert]

As you are familiar with VBA I can see two other options:

1. Use Christian Werner's ODBC driver from Access (or Excel):
http://www.ch-werner.de/sqliteodbc/

2. Use Olaf Schmidt's COM dll with Access (or Excel):
http://www.vbrichclient.com/#/en/About/

RBS


On Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 9:54 PM, Balaji Ramanathan <
balaji.ramanat...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I have been using SQLite without any programming language so far.  I
> maintain the data in SQLite and use SqliteStudio (www.sqlitestudio.pl) for
> inputting data into it and running queries to look at outputs.  However
> SqliteStudio does not have a programmable back-end that allows me to take
> the outputs of a query and do things with it (such as calculating running
> sums and averages, for instance).  So, if things become too expensive for
> standard SQL, I just do without.
>
> In the past, I have maintained my data in an Access database and
> developed a pretty extensive set of forms and reports to input and extract
> data.  I moved to SQLite because I wanted to move off a proprietary
> platform onto a free one.  And SQLite is faster and includes more SQL
> functionality like CTE's also.
>
> But I miss the nice front-end with forms to take inputs (especially
> parent and child forms to input data related to foreign keys) and the
> reports to format my outputs the way I wanted them.  I could also do
> running sums and averages, percentile scores and other things that require
> looking at a data dump of an entire columns of contents to do efficiently.
>
> I am familiar with programming in C and Java, but none of my
> programming has been for the windows platform (except for the programming
> inside MS Access, which was done in VBA).  I have never developed GUI front
> ends with forms, buttons, etc.
>
> Is there a third party free tool like MS Access that would allow me to
> connect to a SQLite db in the back-end and enable me to create a custom
> front-end to it with forms and reports?  All my searches for this kind of
> tool only lead me to tools like SqliteStudio, which is a GUI front end for
> SQLite, but not a programmable one like I want.  If anyone can point me
> towards a programmable GUI front-end development tool (preferrably
> open-source, but just free and well-maintained is sufficient), I would
> appreciate it greatly.
>
> Thank you very much.
>
> Balaji Ramanathan
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Tim Streater]

On 13 Nov 2017, at 21:54, Balaji Ramanathan  wrote:

> Is there a third party free tool like MS Access that would allow me to
> connect to a SQLite db in the back-end and enable me to create a custom
> front-end to it with forms and reports?  All my searches for this kind of
> tool only lead me to tools like SqliteStudio, which is a GUI front end for
> SQLite, but not a programmable one like I want.  If anyone can point me
> towards a programmable GUI front-end development tool (preferrably
> open-source, but just free and well-maintained is sufficient), I would
> appreciate it greatly.

There is Xojo (www.xojo.com) which has SQLite built in and has reports (which I 
have never used). It's cross-platform and you create your own GUI front end 
with windows, buttons etc. It's free to use for development, but if you want to 
compile and build a stand-alone application (.exe or .app) then you buy a 
licence. There is a Lite licence to build for one platform which is not a high 
cost.



-- 
Cheers  --  Tim
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Richard Hipp]

On 11/13/17, Peter Da Silva  wrote:
> Since sqlite originated as a Tcl extension it’s got excellent Tcl bindings,
> and Tcl has an excellent platform-independent GUI in Tk, so it seems to me
> that would be the best and simplest way to create a GUI front end for
> sqlite.

+1

-- 
D. Richard Hipp
d...@sqlite.org
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Re: [sqlite] Best way to develop a GUI front-end

[Peter Da Silva]

Since sqlite originated as a Tcl extension it’s got excellent Tcl bindings, and 
Tcl has an excellent platform-independent GUI in Tk, so it seems to me that 
would be the best and simplest way to create a GUI front end for sqlite.

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