Sams Teach Yourself StarOffice® 5 for Linux in 24 Hours

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Hour 18: Using Database Functions

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Hour 18
Using Database Functions

In this hour you will learn about the database functions of StarOffice. Database functions enable you to operate on a set of spreadsheet data as if it were records in a database. The data in spreadsheet cells is examined using spreadsheet functions in formulas that provide useful tools for manipulating your data.

The database features that you'll learn about include using data validity checking to help guide you in entering data in your sheet, plus sorting and filtering features to organize large amounts of data.

Defining Database Terms

Before describing the database features of StarOffice, some database terms are outlined to ensure that we're all starting from the same point.

Loosely defined, a database is a collection of organized information. A database can contain multiple tables or specific sets of information. For example, an Orders database might contain a table of customer information and a table of product information. You'll often hear a single table referred to as a database when it's not part of a larger dataset--that's what is done in this hour.

Each table consists of records, with each record being a data set, or tuple, if you're familiar with some of the more formal database terminology.

Each record is made up of fields, and each field is a distinct piece of information.

Because a spreadsheet is being used as a database management program in this hour, the following generalizations can be made about what you'll be shown here:

Here's a look at the sample data that is used to show you about databases in StarOffice. Figure 18.1 contains a table, organized as rows and columns, with a label at the top of each field.

Figure 18.1
The sample data, organized in rows (records) and columns (fields).

From this sample, you can see that each record contains the name and address of a person.

The fields that make up each record are

Many other database terms are used when you work with a more formal database program such as Informix or Microsoft Access.

Terms such as primary key and outer join apply to relational databases, but not to the less formal, flat-file databases that you can create and manage in a StarOffice spreadsheet.

Sams Teach Yourself StarOffice® 5 for Linux in 24 Hours

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Hour 18: Using Database Functions

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