Ask Slashdot: Easy-To-Use Alternative To MS Access For a Charity's Database? 281
New submitter danzvash (447536) writes "I'm doing some volunteering for a street kids charity in Senegal, West Africa, and they need a new database to store all their information for the kids, and to help the funding organizations like UNICEF. The charity staff have a few computers running Windows 7. Being a die-hard OSS geek I'm more inclined to knock up a MySQL backend with a Django (or similar) front-end and run the whole thing from a reliable VPS. But it needs to be understandable by the non-geeks in the charity — there is no IT expertise here. Is there anything that can allow me to design and edit databases, tables, and forms but doesn't require an MS license?"
SubjectsInCommentsAreStupid (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:SubjectsInCommentsAreStupid (Score:5, Informative)
alternatively, he could build a tool nobody knows how to use, migrate critical data to it, then bail.
my advice from being in similar positions? Just use excel. you can make a VBA form if you feel strongly about it. a single excel file can hold a million records on each tab and it's easy to pull data and summaries. If you're feeling fancy, you can write VBA reports as well. then you can gracefully step away with a clear conscience and let other people handle it.
you say you don't want a ms license. Is this because of the cost or politics? you're running windows anyway. Just dig up some excel 2007 or 2010 licenses or buy off ebay. this way you don't need to do the subscription model that ms is doing now. you say you only have a few computers anyway.
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Uhmm... Office 2013 is available as a standard license, like it's always been...
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my advice from being in similar positions? Just use excel.
Depending on the amount of data, and how it is used, a text file may also work well.
There are way too many missing pieces of information:
1. What are they using now?
2. Do they think they need a "new database", or does the submitter think that? In either case, why is a change needed?
3. How much data?
4. How is it being used?
5. Do they have a reliable internet connection? If so, Google Docs may be a good, and free, solution.
6. How long is the submitter going to stick around? Can things be patched remot
Spreadsheet vs DB (Score:5, Insightful)
My general guidelines, for data storage, Fields A, B, through Z by $X records
is $X > 10,000 records? - If Yes use a DB if No see Next Question
Do I need separate out data by type or access, such as Joe can see Name, DOB, Telephone number, Address, Emergency contact info etc. But Jane should only see Name, and Emergency Contact? - If Yes use a DB if No see Next Question
Will more than 1 user need to write data at to this at the same time? If Yes use a DB if No see Next Question
Will more than have users need to read data from this at the same time or will anyone need to read real time changes data? If Yes use a DB if No see Next Question
If you have answered No to all of the above questions, Then use a spreadsheet.
Run over by a bus. (Score:2)
I assume that if the submitter is planning on building a MySQL and django database system for this charity where nobody else has tech experience, he will commit to moving to Senegal and working for the charity to maintain this db for the next decade+ while the db is in use. All for free.
alternatively, he could build a tool nobody knows how to use, migrate critical data to it, then bail.
Everyone here has an answer. But you seem to be the only one who is asking the right questions.
Re: (Score:2)
What about something like wagn [wagn.org]? Not much tech experience needed to mess around with it, once you set it up.
Re:SubjectsInCommentsAreStupid (Score:5, Informative)
libre/openoffice base can both be used as a frontend to a mysql database. i'm surprised so few people know about it.
http://extensions.libreoffice.... [libreoffice.org]
Re:SubjectsInCommentsAreStupid (Score:5, Informative)
bollocks. If he's asking for a "simple to use" alternative, the charity is probably not paying anything for it. so a free alternative makes a lot of sense.
If he's knocking up some simple DB, if he was to use the MS product, no doubt it'd be Access or Excel with a load of VBA scripting and macros - and that is usually worse than anything else.
LibreOffice's Base fulfils the same role as Access. just as good, not as expensive.
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the best part of excel is that a lot of VBA becomes total crap but worst case you can just go to adding rows in a spreadsheet tab. it has a very simple fallback position.
this sounds like it won't be front facing or customer facing, just a quick and dirty way to track information in house.
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LibreOffice's Base fulfils the same role as Access. just as good, not as expensive.
Talk about damming with faint praise...
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Having used both Access and the Base program, I can say that Access is a lot better, particularly with forms and reports.
That being said, you're right, MS-Access sucks. The only thing I use it for is prototyping and quicky reports to my PostgresSQL and Mysql databases via ODBC. It can be handy if I'm dragging data from multiple sources like an Excel spreadsheet, CSV file and MySQL database, via ODBC connections and be able to build queries on all these sources (even if it can be as slow as a dog). But to ac
Re:SubjectsInCommentsAreStupid (Score:4, Interesting)
That's something that ooBase (or LibreOffice Base) has yet to get right - a good database tool lets you pull from *anywhere* and put to *anywhere* with minimal effort. MSAccess has very good import/export capability, which makes it easy to pull in a CSV, massage it, and then output something else.
The other issue with ooBase/LibreBase is that you cannot visually design insert / update / delete queries using their QBE interface. Instead you have to write out all of the SQL. Add to that the stupid idea to use a non-standard SQL engine that requires weird syntax not supported by the mainstream databases (like pgsql). In ooBase you have to put double quotes around every table and field name.
As much as I want to use ooBase/Libre at the office, MSAccess still beats it hands-down for data manipulation.
Re: (Score:2)
How is SQL express a solution when he specifically stated MYSQL was a bad idea due to technical limitations?
With 0 technical expertise, SQL Express is still going to need a custom web frontend for access to the data etc.....
I do'nt disagree, that Star/Libre/Open office base isn't a worthwhile solution, but MYSQL vs MSSQL is the same issue.
Re:SubjectsInCommentsAreStupid (Score:5, Informative)
But it's not going to work for anyone trying to do anything moderately complex, and to recommend it as a solution for a use case you know nothing about and will not end up testing or supporting is just wrong. ... SQL Server Express is free and comes with limitations, but it should easily handle what they need.
So, recommending a solution to a problem that wasn't specified "is just wrong" according to you. Yet you claim that StarOffice won't work for that unspecified problem but SQL Server Express will work for that unspecified problem. Your bias undercuts the recommendations you make.
To answer the original poster's question: I don't know of any analogues to Access in the open source world. What sort of use-cases are you looking to support?
Re:SubjectsInCommentsAreStupid (Score:4, Insightful)
The Word Processors in those packages are very capable. I haven't needed MS Office at home for many years now thanks to those alternatives. What about them left you unsatisfied to such a tremendous degree that you label them "shit?"
Re: (Score:3)
Sooo... your evaluation of S/O/L (heh, cute) Office is based upon how they convert to and from proprietary formats created and designed by other developers? Out of curiosity, any complaints involving files created in their native formats, used exclusively with their respective suites?
I've tried to support a mixed Open Office/MS Office shop, and yeah, it was a pain. But, if something was going to stay entirely within one sphere or the other, no problems.
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Agreed. Between Django's built in admin interface and mysql editors like adminer [adminer.org] you can do an awful lot without any code at all. And a web interface has the advantages that it 1) is easy to run dev/production environments, 2) is easy to make changes and ensure that everyone is using them, 3) runs on obsolete equipment (anything that can run a browser), 4) mobile/tablet ready, and 5) scalable.
But also important, while other people are arguing that spreadsheets and access and the like could be run better
OpenOffice or LibreOffice (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm surprised a die-hard OSS geek hasn't heard of OpenOffice or LibreOffice's Base.
Re:OpenOffice or LibreOffice (Score:4, Informative)
MySQL is almost certainly overkill.
It's probably also worth considering if any db is overkill - can you achieve your use cases with a spreadsheet (Calc)? If so - that's a much lower learning curve and less maintenance for you.
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For anything you create, the data storage part should be completely transparent to the end users. Something that connects to a database of some kind should handle all the data manipulation they're interested in. The storage mechanism should pretty much run itself as should the application server if you are using that kind of component.
There are plenty of apps that have database backends that don't require a great deal of IT skill to deal with.
They should never have to worry about directly manipulating the d
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Sorry, but base is a joke. by far the LEAST functional part of that suite. (And it's too bad. I'd use it for all kinds of stuff, if it were just a little more reliable...)
Re:OpenOffice or LibreOffice (Score:5, Funny)
How is that different from MS Access?
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Access is a joke that's actually funny. Like, "Haha, that idiot did something important in Access! Oh my $DEITY, can you believe people are that dumb?!?"
Base is like an attempted joke that makes people shuffle their feet and look away from you. "Um... did you have to talk about that? Like, really, dude, not cool..."
Re: (Score:2)
Google Tables is good (Score:3)
Re:OpenOffice or LibreOffice (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, I don't have a problem with HSQLDB, which is the engine used by Base, but when I did a similar exercise for a non-profit a while back the problem with Base was it shipped with an old, old version of HSQLDB. The subset of HSQL it supported was *totally* undocumented. Basically nothing beyond the most basic stuff worked. You couldn't even used stored procedures to get around the limitations (I needed the Base/HSQLDB combination to calculate an UUID -- simple stuff).
I am a big non-fan of MS Access. For one thing its the *only* database product I've ever used that gives *wrong* answers (usually there's a null involved somehow, and a connection to an external database). But MS Access with the stand alone JET engine addresses quite a wide range of practical situations better than anything else that's out there, and that's sad.
OO Base is meant to address the same range of situations, but it's simply impossible to recommend such a poorly documented and quirky product to someone you're not going to be around to support. I suppose you could use Base with Firebird, HSQLDB, Derby, or some such, but I have experience with supporting organizations out in the field in primitive conditions, and sooner or later they're going to need to re-install the software. And most people aren't good at that. They lose heart if there's too many steps.
So the advantage something like Access, Base, or FileMaker, despite their many warts, is that the overview is simple. Pop the installation CD in and click through. Open a copy of the last back of the "database file" you have and see how much stuff you have to re-enter.
I really, really, really wish I could recommend Base, but as of the last time I checked, I simply can't unless the documentation and HSQLDB version problems have been addressed.
OpenOffice? (Score:3, Informative)
OpenOffice has a database thing similar to Access (at least on the surface). Dunno how well it fits the use case, but the product blurb sounds right up your alley: https://www.openoffice.org/product/base.html
Re:OpenOffice? (Score:5, Informative)
Its friggen terrible. Really... try it out. I like most of Open Office but Base is a buggy joke.
Is Access actually better for them anyways? (Score:5, Insightful)
Don't make your problem more difficult than it needs to be... If you give them software that they can't use then most likely they will stop using it once you are on the plane.
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Agreed. If there is truly no IT expertise and no budget, then I'd say a spreadsheet is what will serve them best. You can help them set it up, and they'll be much more likely to be able to manage it once your gone. No doubt it will be more error-prone and cumbersome than a relational database, but they'll understand how it works. They can set up organizational processes to make up for the lack of built-in data quality checking.
A simple relational database with a simple front end is great if there's support.
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Since they have no budget, I think they should steal a pencil from a no-tech bowling alley, and log their info on the backs of junk-mail. No one has to buy a computer or pay for Internet to D/L Libre/Open.
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The back half of this comment is what needs to be paid attention to:
If you give them software that they can't use then most likely they will stop using it once you are on the plane.
Just bite the bullet and get Access. Everyone can use it. Training is fairly universal. The next guy through will be able to use it right off the bat with no effort. Do these folks a favor and future proof them with Access.
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... and if you are a charity you can get it cheaply.
http://www.techsoup.org/ [techsoup.org]
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Just bite the bullet and get Access. Everyone can use it. Training is fairly universal. The next guy through will be able to use it right off the bat with no effort. Do these folks a favor and future proof them with Access.
That is only true until Microsoft changes the UI for access completely again and then nobody can use it. Don't you remember what they did to the entire office suite not-too-many years ago? And if any software is never future proof, it is Office. Every time Microsoft releases a new version they muck up backwards compatibility in a new and exciting way.
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Newer versions of Office do not download themselves and screw up a business like smart-phone apps do to their users.
The old version continues to work indefinitely. The user has to actually choose to buy the new version, and should understand any changes that will come with it.
There are plenty of real problems in the world. No need to make up imaginary ones.
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Google docs will let you connect multiple people to the same spreadsheet at the same time..
It works pretty well too... as long as the slightly chaotic editing that this creates is OK (like you don't need multi-cell/multi-sheet locking to keep people out of each other's business)..
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Google Forms will probably create enough of an access like experience to get the job done.
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Re:Is Access actually better for them anyways? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Africa generally doesn't have reliable internet connections, unless they're via satellite, but those are very expensive and therefore only used for the really important things. It also depends whether the OP will be working in Senegal's capital or elsewhere.
Best option: just ask local people where they get their software and use their versions (even if they are illegal). You can also consider using an older (secondhand) version of Access.
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There's also the little matter of the speed of light delay being significent
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I hope you aren't serious. If that were the OP's mindset, we wouldn't even be having this conversation since the question wouldn't have been asked.
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> A spreadsheet doesn't _easily_ have forms with validation and reporting.
Funny, my Excel has exactly that in the data tab. No macro required, just a few choices in the dialog.
The main downside of Excel over a real database is performance, but if that is not an issue, go for it.
Open Office/ Libre Office (Score:3)
Take a look at the latest release works great.
Otherwise use a real DB like mySQL and a nice User frontend.
mysql workbench? (Score:3)
node.js + mongodb! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:node.js + mongodb! (Score:5, Funny)
My old database teacher is coming after you, and he has a bloody chainsaw.
PostgreSQL (Score:3)
Just use PostgreSQL from the outset, and include some operational procedures for trailing in your project's requirements.
The requirement to allow non-technical people to perform technical tasks without the knowledge and experience is a critical modern mistake. Cars are easy to drive, but we make you take driver's ed. We don't try to dumb down brain surgery or rocket science. Yet in computers and, horrifyingly, food, we often avoid providing proper training.
Fast food businesses often use a dedicated grill operator. The sandwich line never interacts with raw meat, so nobody explains food handling safety to anyone. In part, we assume you know; in part, we just don't put people in that position. That's half-assed risk management.
It's no more acceptable in computers, where you expect people to understand what they're doing yet not understand how to use OpenOffice.org Base to modify tables, or even the command line. People who can't use computers can't complete this task; you put an interface in front of them that does all the back-end work. If you're giving them direct back-end access, they're technical people.
Should not have to hire a DBA for something simple (Score:2)
Just use PostgreSQL from the outset
There are lots of situations where this is simply not an option. You should be able to do simple real world database work without requiring the assistance of a DBA. The inability to do this speaks to the poor quality of the interfaces available for database creation.
The requirement to allow non-technical people to perform technical tasks without the knowledge and experience is a critical modern mistake.
I disagree. I think it is a deficiency in the quality of the tools that the technical people have made thus far. Hell I *am* a technical person and I would dearly love for a database that made it as easy to create a simple database as it is
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Using PostgreSQL is the same as using Access. If you are plugging directly into a database, no fancy tools will prepare you for this.
You either want people to understand what a table is, what rows and columns are, what indexes are, and how to use them; or you want to create an interface that provides an abstract concept (helpdesk tickets, accounting ledgers, whatever) and uses the database as a back-end. If you want people who don't know what the fuck tables and indexes are to create tables and indexes
OpenOffice + MySQL (Score:4, Interesting)
While I never did get around to implementing it (or really needing it), I was always intrigued by the fact that the OpenOffice "Base" application can connect to a MySQL database (and has been able to for many, many years). You may want to consider investigating that, as it may provide a fairly "user friendly" and "easily supported" interface to a solid database backend.
phpMyAdmin (Score:2)
phpMyAdmin? [phpmyadmin.net]
podio (Score:3)
Pff Good luck (Score:4, Interesting)
The problem is not the database. We all know Access is no PostGres or MySQL. It is the GUI to build forms and store them.
For example you can create a car parts inventory system really quick and easy for a small shop. You do not have to be an expert developer and an average Joe who knows a tiny bit of sql can develop it and have a working solution within an hour or 2. I wish Access was more used than god aweful Excel to store data, but that and File Maker Pro have filled this market.
I thought about starting a file maker/access clone a few years ago that would be simple and could backend to a SQL database of choice. I never got around to it because I knew it would never compete.
It would be nice to a a gui like Access that can work with a web browser too easily. Until that time there is no replacement for File Maker or Office. (Does Apple even make File Maker anymore ?)
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Re:Pff Good luck (Score:4, Informative)
Kexi has worked on Windows and Mac for more than 5 years already and latest builds are available as part of Calligra
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Even with access, it takes a lot of know how to get what you really want done on the forms, even diving into vba.
There are fields who only access excel, and there are many levels of expertise within excel from macros to vba to complete what you're trying to do. Someone who's not familiar won't be able to use it. Zero experience in databases doesn't mean they can't learn the basics to support it.
SQLite Studio (Score:5, Informative)
civicrm (Score:3, Interesting)
CiviCRM.org
CiviCRM is web-based, open source, Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) software geared toward meeting the needs of non-profit and other civic-sector organizations.
As a non profit committed to the public good itself, CiviCRM understands that forging and growing strong relationships with constituents is about more than collecting and tracking constituent data - it is about sustaining relationships with supporters over time.
To this end, CiviCRM has created a robust web-based, open source, highly customizable, CRM to meet organizations’ highest expectations right out-of-the box. Unlike proprietary software, each new release of this open source software reflects the very real needs of its users as enhancements are continually given back to the community.
With CiviCRM's robust feature set, organizations can further their mission through contact management, fundraising, event management, member management, mass e-mail marketing, peer-to-peer campaigns, case management, and much more.
Too little information (Score:5, Insightful)
There is too little information given to decide what product solution is "best' for this situation.
Note cards work, Spreadsheet is often enough for "simple" databases. Access and similar are good for designing a good front end (not for the database) and so on.
From the sounds of it (reading between the lines), a good CRM like SugarCRM might actually be a better solution. However without more information, any recommendation is pure guessing at this point.
Long term solution? (Score:2)
Who is going to maintain this after you leave? Are you making a firm commitment to provide maintenance in the long term? If so, your off-site VPS solution with a web front end may be appropriate. If not, and there is no local IT expertise at the charity, something self-contained that needs only a single consumer software package to work (Access, Libreoffice Base, even an Excel or Calc workbook) has a better chance of remaining useful when you're gone. Since this is personal data, have you considered how the
Easy to use for who? (Score:2)
Microsoft Access is designed for people with good intuition in computing but little technical knowhow to be able to build simple databases and database related applications by themself. This is not to say that the systems built are easier to use than something built using a competing system or the databases are easier to maintain, but simply that it takes less learning to build them.
So, if you already know how to use Django/MySQL, then why not? Take the time you didn't spend learning a different platform an
Why not use a BaaS provider? (Score:2)
A lot of details missing on what the end-user environment is.
I am assuming they have internet access? Dial-up or faster?
If so, why not consider building a BaaS (Kinvey, Parse, Azure, Amazon) with a simple webapp served up using WAMP or equivalent? I can't imagine this app will run over the limits of the free account providers such as Kinvey and Parse offer. And, you could probably talk to the provider see if they have discounts or willing to donate services.
Wrap everything up in a nice Windows installer.
FileMaker (Score:2)
well (Score:2)
Well, I don't know what you want to use it for.
I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're trying to manage work, tickets, or something to that effect.
I'd try SugarCRM http://www.sugarcrm.com/ [sugarcrm.com]
It's open source and free (without support)
It's the biggest open source CRM I know of.
Every alternative to Access I've seen is terrible. So I'd stop looking for something that replicates Access and start looking for something that does what you're wanting access to do. You might even settle on several applications if
Filemaker Pro 13 Advanced (Score:5, Informative)
web2py, orientdb, and local storage (Score:2)
web2py [web2py.com], multi platform, well documented, non mandatory web based IDE, good security practices, out of the box has a db admin interface and many facilities for auto generating forms, with relationships, that mind validation rules. It can use sqlite3, mysql, postgres, and a lot other db. It has an integrated webserver for low traffic sites. Backwards compatibility is a design goal, so upgrading is easy.
IMHO it is well worth the little additional work over an access like RAD tool because it has a web client/se
DB vs Front-End (Score:2)
I have done extensive work with Access, but almost never used it as the actual storage. Instead, the back-end was on a MySQL, MSSQL, or Postgres server and Access just used as a quick-development environment in the same manner as VB6 would have been.
Nowadays, I usually use MSSQL or Postgres as the backend, and build the front-end in VB.NET or C#. Once your tables are designed, just add a function that has the appropriate bunch of CREATE TABLE statements and initial INSERTs to set up a default schema, and
Save yourself the trouble and just buy... (Score:2)
FileMaker Pro...charity license...done. That'll be $800 of consulting time please :) open source access alternative just isn't worth the man hours to use. Unless you set up a MySQL database and maintain it, Base is not useful as a front end, and definitely not a stand alone alternative to Access.
not really an alternative (Score:2)
The charity staff have a few computers running Windows 7
why on earth does a charity run w7? were those computers a gift?
But it needs to be understandable by the non-geeks in the charity
average computer illiterate users can do absolutely nothing with ms-access. specially smart average computer illiterate users can do utter crap with ms-access in which they themselves will get lost very soon. geeks can use ms-access as they would use any other relational engine (just a very limited one). in short: ms-acces offers zero, it's not really an alternative in this case.
developing something for them (the cited mysql/django approach) i
Re: (Score:2)
developing something for them (the cited mysql/django approach) is cool but will make them dependent on you. do it only if you reasonably expect you'll be around for a while and are up for the compromise :-)
some ideas just to not rule this option completely out:
- make it public, host it in github or similar. someone might volunteer to help maintain it. i could.
- contact unicef. as a peer in the workflow they might be able to help with resources, tools, knowhow or specifications.
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Dunno, if their DB needs can be met by access -- then the level of db skills and complexity of the db itself is pretty minimal. We're not talking about load balancing, replication or anything of that nature. would it even be relational, or just a single table? :(
You could probably write a PHP front-end in about 20 minutes to handle the data input/retrieval.
If you ever needed to modify the database throw in something like workbench or navicat, and basically like modifying a spreadsheet -- they might need a
Affordable option for charities (Score:5, Informative)
In addition to discounts techsoup also has a wealth of articles on tech-related issues for nonprofit management. http://techsoup.org/ [techsoup.org]
Don't be a zealot. (Score:2)
If they know and use Windows now, don't be a zealous wanker and force them to spend their resources learning something completely different. Microsoft offers Windows and Office for free to non-profits.
Quickbase. (Score:3)
Quickbase - it's a kind of expensive service but amazing.
All online, no software or machine maintenance. Access from anywhere.
The amount of flexibility it has is astonishing.
Get a free demo - they'll set it up for you exactly how you want it. They've rarely said 'no' to anything I've asked if it could do, and then they implemented it, within minutes. It also has an API so you can add on to it all you want. There are a number of affiliated vendors that have ready made add ons for it as well.
Quickbase can do very very quickly what would take hours or days to program into a custom SQL type app.
salesforce.com (Score:2)
Do not role your own solution. You're effectively crippling your org once you leave. Which will eventually happen.
I've done IT for small non-profits. Used both Access, FileMaker Pro. The third party apps targeting non profits range from okay to terrible. Biggest challenge is customizations and forward porting that crap. No different than orgs which customized bugzilla and then had rework when a new bugzilla comes out.
What we're doing now is moving to SalesForce. It's free for small non-profits.
http://www.sa [salesforcefoundation.org]
Are we asking the right question? (Score:5, Insightful)
"I'm doing some volunteering for a street kids charity in Senegal, West Africa, and they need a new database to store all their information for the kids, and to help the funding organizations like UNICEF"
Suppose a department in the company you're working for came to you and said "We want a database to store information, and we want to do it with Lotus Notes". Would your first response be start implementing Lotus Notes, or would it be to say "Umm, just a sec here. Why do you think you need a database?" and "What kind of data, how much data will there be, what do you want to do with it?"
Of course, that's one of the most annoying things that IT people do: ignore your question and try to help solve your actual problem. I apologize now.
For one thing, your problem may already have been solved for someone else.
Are we talking about committing to paying monthly fees for a VPS server? If so, I do not see why the problem with paying for MS Access licenses.
My other question is, if we're talking about about a few PC's running Windows 7 and zero-tech knowledge, how are you going to handle backups and restores of the mysql database and the custom apps?
With MS Access or Excel, you can do backups and restores to/from a CD-ROM, or to a USB stick with a trivially easy restore that anyone could assist with over the phone. With SQL Server Express and some other suggestions, not so easy.
K.I.S.S. (Score:2)
Given this info you've given us:
. . . it needs to be understandable by the non-geeks in the charity — there is no IT expertise here . . .
you need to do the simplest possible solution. And by simple, I mean one flat file you can backup and restore and one application that needs to be (re)installed would not be overkill (or is that underkill for this situation?)*. The more you have to add to that in terms of re-creating the system after a failure, the more you've set up a "dead-man" system -- where the "dead man" is you. One out-of-control cement mixer with your name on it and your system is one dead hard drive
They Need. You Want. (Score:2)
they need a new database to store all their information for the kids, and to help the funding organizations like UNICEF. The charity [has] a few computers running Windows 7. Being a die-hard OSS geek I'm more inclined to knock up a MySQL backend with a Django front-end and run the whole thing from a reliable VPS. But it needs to be understandable by the non-geeks in the charity--- there is no IT expertise here
You might better begin by asking what local sponsors and organizations like UNICEF are using. What support they can offer. If Windows and MS Office are the de facto standards here, you may need to rethink your priorities.
That the charity is running Win 7 is a significant clue. Top 7 OSs in Senegal [statcounter.com]
a MySQL backend with a Django front-end and run the whole thing from a reliable VPS
Does this really sound to you like something anyone but a geek would understand and be able to maintain?
Not MySQL (Score:2)
Friends do not let friends suffer MySQL. Go for Glom or LibreOffice Base over PostgreSQL.
NationBuilder (Score:3)
Look into NationBuilder - they are exactly what you are looking for. http://nationbuilder.com/ [nationbuilder.com]
Don't pay for web development of a one-off app.
Google to the rescue (Score:2)
Don't look for a database, use Excel! (Score:2)
How about (Score:2)
you just ask on slashdor for people volunterring for the setting it up, knowing the specific requirements, and thinking about it.
The real question is: is tehre already a MS Access DB?
If yes, then dont touch a running system.
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Re:Libre Office Base (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Libre Office Base (Score:5, Insightful)
BS. Access is a terrible database to use as a back-end for real software doing something complex, but it's great as a single-user tool with its own UI.
While a spreadsheet might be more accessible to non-geeks, Access tries pretty hard to give a low-learning-curve to making simple queries and simple GUIs to show the results of queries, or make simple table edits.
I suspect the OP could make a spreadsheet work, however.
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it seems to me that even an organization like Microsoft wouldn't be opposed to donating licenses to charities
Not only are they not opposed to it, but AFAICT it's almost standard practice for them to do this for charitable NGO's in developing countries.
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I mean, call me short-sighted, but it seems to me that even an organization like Microsoft wouldn't be opposed to donating licenses to charities. Is there a reason that alternative wasn't attempted?
Yes.
To quote the submitter.
Being a die-hard OSS geek
Re:Donation? (Score:5, Insightful)
I guess the root of the problem is the submitter then. The charity needs to replace them with a less-biased person so the best decision can be made, whether that be OSS or a free-or-cheap charity license for Access.
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I guess the root of the problem is the submitter then. The charity needs to replace them with a less-biased person so the best decision can be made, whether that be OSS or a free-or-cheap charity license for Access.
Charities are usually much like open source, it's the guy who volunteers or nobody. Doubly so when it's a charity for children in Senegal, I doubt he's hired at market rates...
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Spreadsheets are not databases, and should never be used as such.
Spreadsheet necessarily are databases (Score:2)
Spreadsheets are not databases, and should never be used as such.
Spreadsheets will stop being used as databases when someone invents a database that is as easy to use as a spreadsheet. Nobody has done this yet. I've never seen a database that was even close to as easy to use as a spreadsheet. Even Access is still MUCH harder to use than a spreadsheet. MySQL & PostgreSQL are severe overkill for a lot of projects. Openoffice Base is useful as an interface between real databases and spreadsheets (I use it for that) but not much more.
Spreadsheets can be simple datab
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Spreadsheets are not databases, but for some applications they can serve as reasonable simulacrums with certain advantages. Most computer illiterate users can be trained to edit tables for far less effort than taught SQL in the case that the front end breaks. Most computer illiterate users know how to keep backup copies of a spreadsheet for those situations when "the computer did the wrong thing and mess up my data." Most computer illiterate users can use undo and formatting and copying and pasting without
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Replying to give this more visibility; I had no idea this existed (not that I've ever looked for it) but at first glance it actually looks pretty good. I'd say it is far better for teaching the basics of DBA work than MS Access, and free (as in beer) also makes it more affordable for students if such a product were used in a classroom setting. Disclaimer: I did not read the license to see if such a use was allowed, but it would be foolish of Oracle to block the opportunity to indoctrinate generations of D