DevonThink 3 versus Tinderbox versus VooDooPad

Posted by Jeffery Smith
Nov 23, 2019 at 11:36 PM

I realize that my challenge is sort of an odd one.

What I need to learn (and then teach others) is part of a much larger Human Resource system (named Banner) that is essentially a huge relational database with modules for Human Resources, Student Records, and Class Offerings, It is like PeopleSoft, but better implemented for higher education.

What I have are dozens of screens, some of which are HR screens, some of which are Student Record (enrollment) screens, and some of which are rules for how faculty will be paid based on which classes are linked to each instructor. So, I’m working within a pre-defined database to which I have to link records using multiple tables. What I need is some sort of visual system (or WikiLink system) until I get straight in my head which tables link to which tables, and which fields are absolutely essential. So, I’m teaching myself because the vendor of the software would prefer that I spend a week in another state learning en masse with others. That’s not an option because I’m serving as a consultant on this for the next 6 months. I actually had the system prepared and ready to implement when someone at the college pulled the plug on it at the last minute. That was in 2016, so I’m re-acquainting myself with the very complicated system 3 years later.

It is a difficult system to get set up and implemented because it doesn’t necessarily match up with the way things have been done in the past.

J J Weimer wrote:
I am a bit confused about which parts YOU do versus which parts the
>software app is to do.
> >* Do YOU manually assign the faculty to the classes, or should the
>software do this (through some optimization routines)?
> >* Do YOU manually set up the payment rules for the classes in advance,
>or is the software supposed to do this somehow?
> >* What is meant by “runs a routine merging faculty with classes” ...?
> >I have to think that what you want is this ...
> >(Database of Faculty)
>(Database of Classes)
>(Database of Payment Rules for Classes)
>(Database of Faculty Assignments for Semester)
>—> payments required per faculty
> >I have to imagine that a spreadsheet app could do the job using internal
>cell functions and reference calls.
> >Alternatively, I have to think that the datatool package in LaTeX might
>do what you need (and give you a nicely-formatted PDF report to submit
>with no greater effort).
> >The FileMaker Pro app should be able to tear this up with no problem.
> >Little that I know about it, someone is bound to say that you should use
>an SQL variant database tool.
> >Is this where you are going with what you need?