New user looking for Base help

aphelionrau · Blue Pill Joined: Mar 18, 2008 Posts: 1

Hi.

I'm new to the whole world of databasing but I think that databases will allow me to do everything that I want to do. However I don't know how to do what I want to do!

So anyway, a brief description of my problem.

I oversee a charity bookshop. I would like to create a database that will track sales records, stock levels and generate weekly and monthly reports for my supervisor.

I am currently using a spreadsheet to do this but I think that a database would be able to better handle all that I want to happen.

I would like to be able to create a new sales record each week within the same database. This would then automatically update the stock levels. I would then also be able to generate a sales report detailing total sales, costs, profits etc. Then I would like to be able to generate a monthly report detailing all the sales for a month.

Firstly, is this possible?

Secondly, where would I find the information as to how to do this?

Thirdly, how difficult would this be to do? I.e. how much complicated programming will I have to learn?!

jgd · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:13 pm Post subject:

You might want to have a look at the tutorial series Lorinda wrote in NeoWiki

You can start with a spreadsheet, and if you follow carefully the steps Lorinda explains, there is no difficulty.

Of course, feel free to post here to get more info, explanations, etc.

Hth

Jacqueline

Lorinda · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 12:47 pm Post subject:

Depending on what you need/want, you may need to learn some SQL and/or some Basic; the latter would be for writing macros. In some cases, though, the code for macros is already available on one of the OOo forums, and just needs to be adjusted for your circumstances.

In addition to the tutorial in the Neowiki, other sources of help are listed on the NeoBase page in the wiki.

Lorinda

OPENSTEP · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:20 am Post subject:

If you do get serious about SQL, I highly recommend a book titled "The Practical SQL Handbook", published by Addison-Wesley. It's a good introduction to generic SQL that should apply for most of the databases you'd want to use with Base. I bought that book nearly 10 years ago and it's been the place where I search first for the magical incantations Smile

ed

motherzucker · Blue Pill Joined: Mar 20, 2008 Posts: 1

jgd · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:18 pm Post subject:

Thanks, but Lorinda is the "Saint" who wrote these tutorials, not me Wink

Jacqueline