Ian Lynch wrote:
To be honest, I have been far too busy with OpenOffice.org and the INGOT scheme to do much else FLOSS-wise. To me school admin packages are just databases, I can't see how they cause so many problems! Ok, time tabling software could be a bit complex but the basic data things should be just data files, surely. Why it takes Capita years to design a new version is beyond me but maybe I'm missing something. I don't really have the time or desire to get into school admin systems.
As ever, the problem with these systems is not the database, but the GUI that is tacked on top so that the admin staff don't know that they're using a database. I sometimes think that it'd be easier to teach people SQL than have to cope with the instabilities and idiosynchrasies of each new generation of GUI... One of the biggest problems in deploying SIMS .Net is the move from the software being distributed via a network share (which allowed it to be hosted on a Samba server) to a central MS SQL database. So, although the system of file locks could be a PITA to work with in the old version, the reliance on a single system to perform the processing that every workstation in the school did previously means that most schools are having to upgrade their SIMS servers. Our LEA recommended that every secondary school spend £5k on a new server to run SIMS .Net. That's a lot of cash that could have been spent elsewhere. As far as the complexities of the software go, you're right in that most of the functions are relatively simple, but there are some more advanced features like talking to OMRs. Cheers, Tony