Topic: Linux Web Development

[VBprogrammer]

I now have a real repulsion to programming in windows. I'm just to used to the power of being able to throw together a script to do something that takes 10 mouse clicks in windows. I don't really play games so that isn't so much of an issue for me. It meets my need better than windows does. Now if only Excel worked in wine. I prefer latex to word

[Perspective]

>I prefer latex to word


amen. Latex is awesome, I use it for all my writing.

[Steve]

Never heard of it, im using OO for everything. What can Excel do in windows that OO cant do in linux? I mean if Mac can run a full featured excel then linux should be able too.

[Dumah]

>>What can Excel do in windows that OO cant do in linux?

OO is ok for small stuff. If you run pretty complex models, link to things like OLAP cubes and use loads of pivots then OO is a poor substitute

[Steve]

yea thats all way over my exp level lol

[Perspective]

You guys use excel for OLAP?? I'm curious, why not an RDBMS?  I guess your data sets are small or something?

[VBprogrammer]

Its not really a criticism of OO RoD. It just that I have spent several summers working in finance jobs using Excel 2003 for almost everything so I know it in and out.

[Steve]

Its not really a criticism of OO RoD. It just that I have spent several summers working in finance jobs using Excel 2003 for almost everything so I know it in and out.

makes sense to me. when your comfortable your comfortable

[Dumah]

You guys use excel for OLAP?? I'm curious, why not an RDBMS?  I guess your data sets are small or something?

1 Answer. Very, very old and antiquated systems. We have a mainframe systems that was designed in the 80s. To get anything from the system you need access to the crystal server (which we arent allowed to play with it!!!!) so it means downloading data in a set format than using pivots and the usual excel trickery to get in a form that the cubes can work with. I have had them install access so that I can get most of the work done in queries and link in direct, but havent had time to do anything with it.

You are very right that this restricts the size of data ther cube can read from, so we end up having to freeze summary data inside the cube for all but the current peroid we are working on (hardly "online" then huh?!?!)

They are rolling SAP out across the group, but our installation target is always 2 years. It's 2 years now, was 2 years when I joined 6 months ago and the guy I worked with says it was 2 years when he joined 18 months ago!

Crap position to be in, but I've already lost a job to the recession and this place looks like a pretty safe bet until things get better.