Re: [seul-edu] Address List Database

["Paul Sutton" <psutton@uklinux.net>]

Can you save the file as text delimited or csv (comma separated values) then
write a program to access files in this format,  ASP should do this,  so
should java.

Paul
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rasjid Wilcox" <rasjidw@bigpond.com>
To: <schoolforge-discuss@schoolforge.net>; <seul-edu@seul.org>
Sent: 20 March 2002 09:34
Subject: [seul-edu] Address List Database


> 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.
>