Comments on: A review of the Glom graphical database front-end http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/ Stay curious! Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:41:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 By: Afaceri pe internet » Blog Archive » Glom Review! http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-5827 Afaceri pe internet » Blog Archive » Glom Review! Wed, 18 Apr 2007 01:00:28 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-5827 <p>[...] Read it here: Xaprb [...]</p> […] Read it here: Xaprb […]

]]> By: Chanchao http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-2288 Chanchao Thu, 26 Oct 2006 06:40:05 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-2288 <p>Thanks for the excellent review, just what I needed! Two points:</p. <p>1. "Front end to a database". . . . I'd rather approach it as a development tool for a database APPLICATION. I never even considered that people exist who would use a database directly without an application.. Scientists and serious data miners I guess.. But real people don't even think of it as a database, they think of it as an application that they use. </p> <p>2. Kexi: I tried it, and this is NOT a finished product, even though they now tout it as version "1.0". It doesn't do master-detail forms, full stop, full uninstall, check back next year, thankyouverymuch. Development goes VERY slow on that project as well, it hasn't really moved much during the last year.</p> <p>3. MS Access: Keep in mind that you don't have to use the built-in database at all.. Indeed the built in database isn't the greatest thing since rice, but MS Access happily acts as a front-end to MS SQL Server (which has $-free versions in MSDE / SQL Server 2005 Express). So then you get a pretty solid relational database, and a very full featured front end with which you can happily (and quickly!) make rich, stable applications for clinics, and everything else. Still has some quirky bits, but EVERYTHING has quirky bits, including Oracle Forms which is so ancient you'd think it was quirck-free by now.</p> <p>4. Another BRILLIANT Filemaker-like rich application front end that also runs on the web is called Servoy. If only it were Free.. :( I wish something like that was available Free or for less money.. I don't mind paying for the development tools, but at least let me release the applicaton I made without users having to pay license fees to use it.. (Don't let that stop you from googling up some info on Servoy though, it's really very good and worth checking out.)</p> Thanks for the excellent review, just what I needed! Two points:

1. “Front end to a database”. . . . I’d rather approach it as a development tool for a database APPLICATION. I never even considered that people exist who would use a database directly without an application.. Scientists and serious data miners I guess.. But real people don’t even think of it as a database, they think of it as an application that they use.

2. Kexi: I tried it, and this is NOT a finished product, even though they now tout it as version “1.0″. It doesn’t do master-detail forms, full stop, full uninstall, check back next year, thankyouverymuch. Development goes VERY slow on that project as well, it hasn’t really moved much during the last year.

3. MS Access: Keep in mind that you don’t have to use the built-in database at all.. Indeed the built in database isn’t the greatest thing since rice, but MS Access happily acts as a front-end to MS SQL Server (which has $-free versions in MSDE / SQL Server 2005 Express). So then you get a pretty solid relational database, and a very full featured front end with which you can happily (and quickly!) make rich, stable applications for clinics, and everything else. Still has some quirky bits, but EVERYTHING has quirky bits, including Oracle Forms which is so ancient you’d think it was quirck-free by now.

4. Another BRILLIANT Filemaker-like rich application front end that also runs on the web is called Servoy. If only it were Free.. :( I wish something like that was available Free or for less money.. I don’t mind paying for the development tools, but at least let me release the applicaton I made without users having to pay license fees to use it.. (Don’t let that stop you from googling up some info on Servoy though, it’s really very good and worth checking out.)

]]> By: Lee http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1922 Lee Fri, 22 Sep 2006 10:00:34 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1922 <p>Looks nice. However, BOND is not the main competitor to this. On KDE, you have serious contenders for the "FOSS equivalent of Access" title, like Kexi, Rekall, and Knoda.</p> Looks nice. However, BOND is not the main competitor to this. On KDE, you have serious contenders for the “FOSS equivalent of Access” title, like Kexi, Rekall, and Knoda.

]]> By: Frederick Frazelle http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1816 Frederick Frazelle Fri, 15 Sep 2006 02:27:13 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1816 <p>Well, Freespire CNR downloaded & installed Kexi just fine except when i ran it the first time it asked for my server connection ... duh...</p> <p>So, i downloaded Glom from Freespire as well and ran it & have the same problem. So, it looks like i gotta go to the black box and see what's wrong -- maybe the pg server isn't running or who knows what.</p> <p>i hadn't realized that this was pretty much a "forum" for Glom, i'm sorry about that. i'll come back when i can get my pg server up and running or whatever it is and then try Glom on it, hopefully.</p> <p>Same as above, have a great evening! :)</p> Well, Freespire CNR downloaded & installed Kexi just fine except when i ran it the first time it asked for my server connection … duh…

So, i downloaded Glom from Freespire as well and ran it & have the same problem. So, it looks like i gotta go to the black box and see what’s wrong — maybe the pg server isn’t running or who knows what.

i hadn’t realized that this was pretty much a “forum” for Glom, i’m sorry about that. i’ll come back when i can get my pg server up and running or whatever it is and then try Glom on it, hopefully.

Same as above, have a great evening! :)

]]> By: Frederick Frazelle http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1814 Frederick Frazelle Fri, 15 Sep 2006 00:24:11 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1814 <p>Wow, I've been looking for almost two years now for enough applications to switch over to Linux and leave that other thing in the dust, but one of the major drawbacks has been that i like to make little, and i mean little, databases in Acce$$. Finally found OpenOffice and then began looking for a more robust db than HSQL or whatever their embedded db is. We use Acce$$ at work and i was able to make up a db without any knowledge of programming whatsoever for our work environment. We maybe have 1,000 families and their children -- two tables. Then we have a child care provider table and that's about it, so it's relational i suppose. We have 15 people in the office who use it and it crashes at least once a week. We've gotten "used" to it and our IT dept. tells us we're going to have to either buy a custom-made program or have a programmer make one for us. Sigh. All that taxpayer money. </p> <p>OOo has some sort of connecter program which i was hoping to use with the db that we found PostgreSQL. i am able to download pgsql and install it but can't get beyond that bec. i don't have any way to make up the forms and reports so i've been scouring the net looking for something which will allow me to create two blinkin' tables and one query which will basically link both tables (i figure if it will link 2 tables and can make as many other queries as needed for the other, simpler tasks) but when i use OOo to create the form on my pg two table db, the data is not updatable, i.e. i can't even input the first family/children so i'm hoping that maybe w/ Kexi we can do this...</p> <p>In our db at work although we don't have many records, we do have to make up a lot of forms and reports, so i just downloaded it from Freespire (was using Mandriva 2006 Free but it required just too much Linux under-the-hood knowledge) and can now see the icon on desktop...</p> <p>Have a great evening! :)</p> Wow, I’ve been looking for almost two years now for enough applications to switch over to Linux and leave that other thing in the dust, but one of the major drawbacks has been that i like to make little, and i mean little, databases in Acce$$. Finally found OpenOffice and then began looking for a more robust db than HSQL or whatever their embedded db is. We use Acce$$ at work and i was able to make up a db without any knowledge of programming whatsoever for our work environment. We maybe have 1,000 families and their children — two tables. Then we have a child care provider table and that’s about it, so it’s relational i suppose. We have 15 people in the office who use it and it crashes at least once a week. We’ve gotten “used” to it and our IT dept. tells us we’re going to have to either buy a custom-made program or have a programmer make one for us. Sigh. All that taxpayer money.

OOo has some sort of connecter program which i was hoping to use with the db that we found PostgreSQL. i am able to download pgsql and install it but can’t get beyond that bec. i don’t have any way to make up the forms and reports so i’ve been scouring the net looking for something which will allow me to create two blinkin’ tables and one query which will basically link both tables (i figure if it will link 2 tables and can make as many other queries as needed for the other, simpler tasks) but when i use OOo to create the form on my pg two table db, the data is not updatable, i.e. i can’t even input the first family/children so i’m hoping that maybe w/ Kexi we can do this…

In our db at work although we don’t have many records, we do have to make up a lot of forms and reports, so i just downloaded it from Freespire (was using Mandriva 2006 Free but it required just too much Linux under-the-hood knowledge) and can now see the icon on desktop…

Have a great evening! :)

]]> By: Xaprb http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1782 Xaprb Wed, 13 Sep 2006 01:38:03 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1782 <p>I have to apologize -- I did not mean to go off on a negative tangent about Filemaker's performance. I look back over my comments and they feel very critical to me, something I never meant as I wrote the original article. I'll stop criticizing Filemaker now :-)</p> I have to apologize — I did not mean to go off on a negative tangent about Filemaker’s performance. I look back over my comments and they feel very critical to me, something I never meant as I wrote the original article. I’ll stop criticizing Filemaker now :-)

]]> By: Xaprb http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1779 Xaprb Tue, 12 Sep 2006 21:15:41 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1779 <p>I'll agree, it's not clear ;-) I'm not sure. I have to take your word that it's fast enough, though. But why would they say "For example, if a single Find operation used to take 4 seconds, and now takes 2 seconds, you can effectively do twice as many Find operations in the same amount of time" ?? Even that seems slow to me. 2 <em>milliseconds</em> would be acceptable. I guess the only way to get a real answer is to write them and ask.</p> I’ll agree, it’s not clear ;-) I’m not sure. I have to take your word that it’s fast enough, though. But why would they say “For example, if a single Find operation used to take 4 seconds, and now takes 2 seconds, you can effectively do twice as many Find operations in the same amount of time” ?? Even that seems slow to me. 2 milliseconds would be acceptable. I guess the only way to get a real answer is to write them and ask.

]]> By: Murray Cumming http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1778 Murray Cumming Tue, 12 Sep 2006 20:53:08 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1778 <p>Ah, I think they are talking about the time to do the operation on 10,000 records, not on one record in a table that has 10,000 records. It's not clear. It's really plenty fast enough.</p> Ah, I think they are talking about the time to do the operation on 10,000 records, not on one record in a table that has 10,000 records. It’s not clear. It’s really plenty fast enough.

]]> By: Xaprb http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1776 Xaprb Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:59:44 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1776 <p>The page says seconds in several places. It would be nice to know what they really mean, but to know that, we have to know some meaningful details. Like, "what is a record."</p> <p>Have you used the server version and had 10,000 records with multiple people using it simultaneously? I wonder if that has anything to do with it? For instance, if locking is not implemented well, most of the time might be spent waiting for locks. I personally have not used it in this scenario, but I can check up on it... 10,000 records is not a huge amount of data. I'm sure one of my wife's Filemaker projects has more than that. (I don't want to comment much more on that, as the database has been an enormous problem for that project).</p> <p>It could be that the "benchmarks" are wrong, and performance is not that terrible. As I said, I didn't actually evaluate it myself; I stopped after reading their marketing materials. In that case, I might be over-reacting.</p> The page says seconds in several places. It would be nice to know what they really mean, but to know that, we have to know some meaningful details. Like, “what is a record.”

Have you used the server version and had 10,000 records with multiple people using it simultaneously? I wonder if that has anything to do with it? For instance, if locking is not implemented well, most of the time might be spent waiting for locks. I personally have not used it in this scenario, but I can check up on it… 10,000 records is not a huge amount of data. I’m sure one of my wife’s Filemaker projects has more than that. (I don’t want to comment much more on that, as the database has been an enormous problem for that project).

It could be that the “benchmarks” are wrong, and performance is not that terrible. As I said, I didn’t actually evaluate it myself; I stopped after reading their marketing materials. In that case, I might be over-reacting.

]]> By: Murray Cumming http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1775 Murray Cumming Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:29:09 +0000 http://www.xaprb.com/blog/2006/09/04/a-review-of-the-glom-graphical-database-front-end/#comment-1775 <p>Actually, I have a lot of love for FileMaker, though I want to make something yet better. I never had performance problems with it. I think those numbers might be meant to be milliseconds.</p> Actually, I have a lot of love for FileMaker, though I want to make something yet better. I never had performance problems with it. I think those numbers might be meant to be milliseconds.

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