2010.10.04. 22:23 keltezéssel, Cecilia Cheung írta:
Date: Mon, 4 Oct 2010 12:57:21 -0400
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [authors] Base Guide
Cecilia Cheung wrote:
An outline of restructured chapter 1 for the Base user guide is now available
in the feedback folder, please let me know your comments.
Cecilia
Looking through your proposed outline for restructuring chapter 1, I'm
wondering if the outline for the entire Base Guide should be revised
extensively as well as well (perhaps rewritten). The later chapters
would flow better from what is introduced in Chapter 1 than they would
as they are now written. Just one of my thoughts.
Earlier, mention was made for whom we were writing the Base Guide.
What do we think their expertise in using databases will be? If they
have an database educational background, they will already know the
technical terms which apply to databases. What about those who have not
had a class in databases? How much of a problem will the technical terms
to be introduced in Chapter 1 be to them?
Here are the technical terms to which I refer: entities,
attributes, secondary key, and database management system. Terms used
within base include field name, field type, field properties,
relationships (inner join, outer left join,outer right join, full outer
join, and database engine. Another term use: RDMS (relational database
management system).
My concern is that introducing too many new terms too quickly
might create some problems for those not familiar with technical terms.
To understand what is written, the reader must understand at least 75%
of the words. (So stated a college professor as she taught teachers how
to make reading more understandable by their students). Perhaps my
concerns will be addressed, and I am reading something into the outline
more than is there.
My intention of including a section on database concepts is to help those who have
very little knowledge about databases. Hence, the coverage will only be the bare
essentials so that they can relate to fields, field types, database types etc. when
creating a database& table in Base.
The proposal of Chapter 2, fit into the original outline Appendix II.
http://www.oooauthors.org/english/userguide3/db3/outline
It also helps to visualise where/who they are in this process. I can imagine
that for those who just want to create a database for their musics collection
would probably use the Wizards, as there are predefined fields to select.
Hopefully those basic concepts will help them to understand why those fields
exist.
For this we have documentation in OOo Getting Started guide Base Chapter:
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/OOo3_User_Guides/Getting_Started/Getting_Started_with_Base
I read Dan's today email and I agree with him, that this Guide main
users not a database admins, ordinary users with some OOo background,
and some basic knowledge.
I know that from my experience, which is less than Dan's I started
around OOo 2.0.4 use OOo, from OOo 2.3 I use Base, that the good
database design needs to work effectively, and for this needs some
theory, but if we put into first part of guide and readers see it, may
be they not read further. For this reason I suggest that your outline
Chapter 2 fit into annex.
I'm an aircraft+quality engineer with some IT+Access user knowledge, no
formally educated as you, I read several SQL books, and tried examples,
and discovered OOo Base limits by experience, and some Base QA work in
last year.
My personal view is that the present outline fit for the guide users we
aimed with it.
Regards,
Zoltan
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