[seul-edu] Address List Database

[Rasjid Wilcox <rasjidw@bigpond.com>]

I have almost completed the first version of an address list database for my 
son's school. Unfortunately it is in MS Access (since that was the quickest 
thing for me to do it in), but I'm looking to move it into an open source 
cross platform form.  I am willing to either merge it into an existing 
project (if there is one that is reasonably compatible with what I want to 
achieve and the authors are interested) or to start it as a completely new 
project.

Features of the current database include:
* Address are kept on a household basis, not an individual basis.  So 
newsletters etc on only sent once to each household.
* It keeps track of individuals (students, parents), households (people that 
live in the same house) and parental relationships independantly.  It can 
therefore deal with separated families and step family relationships in an 
sophisticted manner.
* Where a parent has a different surname to their child, they appear with 
their child, but also with a cross-reference from their own surname.

Perhaps an example will make it clearer.

Bill and Mary Smith have two children Joe Smith and Fran Smith.  Bill and 
Mary separate, and Bill partners with Sue Wright who has a daughter Emily 
Thompson from a previous marriage.  Mary marries Frank Hill and have a son 
Robert.  Joe lives with his father Bill, and Fran with her mother Mary.

We have two households but four surnames:
* Bill Smith and Sue Wright, with children Emily Thompson (Sue's) and Joe 
Smith (Bill's).
* Mary and Frank Hill, with children Robert Hill and Mary Smith (Mary's).

The address list entries will look something like:
Hill, Robert             Frank and Mary Hill
 Smith, Mary             27 Mountain Place
                         Creek Valley   Somewhere.

Smith, Joe               Bill Smith and Sue Wright
 Thompson, Emily         10 Pretty Crescent
                         The Plains  Somewhere else.

Smith, Mary -- See Hill
Thompson, Emily -- See Smith
Wright, Sue -- See Smith

Other features I want in an open source version:
* Cross platform client - Linux, Windows and Mac.  I have a very strong 
aversion to using a HTML based client, as the required forms are just too 
complex to do well in HTML.  I would consider Java Applets, but would 
probably prefer a pure Java Application or wxPython.  (wxPython is not on Mac 
yet, but as the key maintainer has recently been given a Mac G4, hopefully it 
will be soon.)
* I would also prefer a cross platform database server (probably MySQL or 
PostgreSQL).
* Sophisticted open source Report writing tool.  If one does not exist yet, 
then I was considering using a TeX and LaTeX combination to create pdf and 
HTML reports.

So I'm after either:
a) Suggestions for an existing project to look at and consider talking to, or;
b) Good free (or low cost) IDE's for Java or Python (with wxPython).

Also, does anyone know a tool for visually creating SQL statements under 
Linux?  I think you can do it to some extent with StarOffice, but is there 
anything else?

Thanks,

Rasjid.