[Kexi] Calculated fields in kexi

Neil Winchurst neil at pamneil.com
Tue Dec 7 13:03:38 CET 2010


On Mon, 6 Dec 2010 22:30:18 +0100
Jaroslaw Staniek <staniek at kde.org> wrote:

> On 6 December 2010 15:57, Neil Winchurst <neil at pamneil.com> wrote:
> > I have searched but not found anything. Is it possible to include
> > calculated fields on a form? That is, fields which give the result of a
> > calculation on the form but which are not stored in any table.
> 
> Not at the moment. Feel free to file a wish at bugs.kde.org, so we
> have a starting point.
> Thanks!
> 
Thanks for the reply. My last 12 working years were spent writing
databases for small companies. I used Borland Paradox, similar to
Access but, IMHO, far superior. I have lost count of how many databases
I actually wrote, but I do remember clearly that only one had no need
for a calculated field.

In my experience the facility to create a calculated field in a form is
fundamental to any database and should be near the top of the list of
what should be included from the very beginning of creating a new 
database program.

I will not spend time going into details of how it worked in Paradox.
Just let me say that the calculation was set up in the form and did not
involve a query or a spreadsheet. The result of the calculation was not
stored anywhere. If you were viewing any records that included
calculated fields then those calculations were performed on the fly as
you went along.

When I moved from Windows to Linux I found plenty of choices for word
processors, spreadsheets, text editors etc. The one big gaping hole was
the lack of any monolithic database program like Access or Paradox.
That was 12 years ago, and I am still waiting.

I am not sure about adding it as a bug in kde.org. It is not really a
bug, it is a missing, essential facility. It was available and easy to
set up in Paradox as long ago as 1992. For me it should have been
included in Kexi right from the start. By the way,  OO Base does not
have it either.

If you really think that I ought to put it on a wish list I will do so.

Neil Winchurst




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