Apache OO vs Libre Office

Latest LibreOffice and latest Apache OpenOffice do not install Java by default. Both of them require Java for some features. LibreOffice's devs stated that they are trying to reduce that dependency.

http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/faq/general-faq/does-libreoffice-require-java/

http://www.openoffice.org/download/common/java.html

 

I doubt he remembers everythiing or cares enough to try recalling.

 

Then he is talking about bugs that others can't even attempt to reproduce (very first step). Not fair.

 

As he basically said in post 103 he's moved on.

 

Like Kerodo said in post 96? lol

 

It was probably more like a year.

They were numerous, everything from crashes/freezes to rendering problems & not opening/running files, & I only ever use Writer & Impress.

I'm very happy with OpenOffice.

I would like to know why you feel the need to beleaguer this argument so much Mr SirPeterPan Wild Hunter?

 

You can say that again.

 

No, I have moved on to use OpenOffice. Which I have used for over four years without any significant problems. Which is why I use it now. And probably why I will use it for a long time to come.

 

Because I'm honestly curious. Why the heck didn't I experience these? I used Writer and Impress for more than a year and the only issues I had were related to poor compatibility with OOXML.

And who is that handsome Sir? lol

 

You don't even need to give us a list, a quick google search is enough. I put "Libre Office crash".

First result that comes up:

http://ask.libreoffice.org/question/6521/does-your-libreoffice-also-randomly-crash-when/

It's the price of getting aggressive on features. When something is "more evolved", yet people have to resort to the "obsolete" Open Office to get things right, there's an obvious issue. Eventually i am sure Libre will settle down and give more stability, but people who use Office for serious projects, like work, prefer stability over features.

Several years ago, i have installed to the office PC of a cousin of mine, Open Office. He works only with documents and swaps file with his office partner who runs MS Office. Now i don't remember how old is the version of Open Office i had installed him, it was either 1.X or more probably 2.0. To this day, when i randomly ask him "do you want me to upgrade it?", he answers "don't touch it, it's working fine!". Even though it's quite slow on loading.


Features are good and if you don't do anything important with it and don't mind potential crashes, getting the latest Libre should be fine. Even more if you are in Linux and you basically like "bleeding edge" software, because it's like a sport. Linux guys try distros for the fun of it. But if you are a bit tired of discovering bugs and you do important things, a repeating crash can be far more annoying than a feature missing.

 

That crash is fixed in latest LibreOffice btw.

 

OK Ok. OpenOffice is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I got it. I think I'll try it - oh wait.

 

Yes, as long as you are always ready to update and update and update. When you are 20 year old, that's almost a game. I remember i was re-installing Windows every week just for the fun of optimizing it and testing new security applications with "clean" drivers. As you grow up, then it becomes more tiring.


The thing is this: Something more evolved, in my book, should be superior to its predecessor. If Apache was to crash and need Libre to finish the job, it would be more natural, as Libre is more developed. When the opposite happens, it's not a good sign, since one is fork of the other, so if one is stable and old, the new one should also show the same stability as the old, if not better.


Other example, of the reviewer who actually has Libre Office in his PC (v.3.5.3)

also OpenOffice was very responsive on the Large.doc, while LibreOffice kept hanging while i was scrolling or editing, also for the same document Libreoffice used 43MB of RAM, while OpenOffice used 35MB of RAM.

http://www.hostcult.com/2012/05/apache-openoffice-34-vs-libreoffice-353.html


V. 3.6

OpenOffice that still nudges past LibreOffice and takes second place, and even on the large .doc where it took almost 1 more minute to load than LibreOffice it still was way more responsive after loading, while LibreOffice was hanging and lagging hard (using a full core) and it also crashed on shutting down

http://www.hostcult.com/2012/08/libreoffice-36-vs-openoffice34-vs-msoffice-vs-iworks.html


I am sure at some point, making Libre Office not hanging and becoming more responsive, will be a reality.

But, the fact that the less developed Open Office is more responsive and didn't hang, is telling something. I mean, bravo to Libre for being more quick in the new version, but this is something i would expect from a "more evolved" project, but your more evolved "tag" starts to shake when the "old horse" seems more stable.

Seems they fix an issue and at the same release a new issue rises and you must run like crazy behing the updates... I guess i am getting old, but i 've been there, done that and i am tired of that.

This doesn't mean i won't ever install Libre, it means i will keep an eye open for reviews and forum comments, sooner or later they will decide to freeze new features and insist on stability and compatibility. Then i may switch to Libre if Apache in the meantime lags behind in these fields.

 

Dude, if I type OpenOffice crash in Google or Bing I can find thousands of similar stories. Give me a break.

 

I am sure you do, as did i when i did the same. And it is natural, for a name that is much older than Libre and is less evolved. I wonder though how many of those crashes were solved by "installing Libre". Which would be more natural of course, since Libre is more evolved.

What Libre presents, in the case of things that work worse than Apache, are called "regressions". To put it in another way. You have a 2000 car model and at some point in 2005, you make a an update model based on the previous one. For some reason, the 2005 model behaves on road worse than the 2000 model. Replying with "the 2000 model had also many issues", while true, isn't a great excuse, since the 2005 model should be a leap forward, not backwards.

 

If I type Apache OpenOffice crash I can find many stories too. Oh, I can find many stories about Apache OpenOffice 3.4.1 (the latest version) crashing. I can't find that many stories about LibreOffice 3.6.3 (the latest version from the less stable branch) or 3.5.7 (the latest version from the more stable branch) crashing. Go figure.

 

Most crashes in Apache, appear to be caused by JAVA version problems, the online updater or the fact that people didn't do clean installation and apparently the user profile in 3.4.0 isn't compatible with the 3.4.1.

Libre on the other hand, while more evolved, crashes or hangs in problems that are in the core of the program. And even more disturbing for the more developed program, people say "i installed Apache Open Office and solved the issue". How can i say, "i drove the old car and now the issue is gone".

Anyway, i don't want to insist further on that, each can have different views on the subject. Luckily, as long as both are free, one can pick what he considers more suited to him. I have high hopes for Libre, but i think they must at some point freeze features and concentrate on stability, performance and compatibility. Then, they will be able to claim total superiority over Apache, because they will have both features and the right to brag "If our Libre can't work with that document, neither Apache will".

 

I don't like cars analogies, lol. The quality tests and circumstances are too different.

This is getting a bit silly. Let's stop making conclusions from the first results of search engines and focus on their official bug tracking for a moment:

LibreOffice: https://bugs.freedesktop.org/

Apache OpenOffice: https://issues.apache.org/ooo/

And these are their lists of most frequently reported bugs:

LibreOffice: https://bugs.freedesktop.org/duplicates.cgi

Apache OpenOffice: https://issues.apache.org/ooo/duplicates.cgi

Which has more unfixed ones? Apache.

 

Thanks for that, very interesting. I am now more convinced of my choice. Some of the unconfirmed (like PDF export) are deal breaker for me and in the most reported, all Apache are ranked trivial, while Libre has several critical and major issues.

Thanks for the links, i will be saving them, in order to judge better the versions in the future.

 

The way they classify the relevance of bugs don't necessarily match. What is severe, critical or trivial for a project might not be for the other. You better investigate and classify the relevance of the bugs for yourself. On the matter: LibreOffice currently has only two frequently reported bugs unfixed. And one of them, supposedly affect only Linux. Apache on the other hand, has several frequently reported bugs unfixed. And they supposedly affect all supported platforms.

 

At the end of the day, I desperately needed a good stable office suite. When I thought that OpenOffice might disappear I decided to try its fork; Libre Office. I didn't know, understand, or really care about the politics of the situation. I just needed a decent stable office suite. Libre Office is not that (not for me anyway).

After many months of disappointment & problems the final 'clincher' was when LibO couldn't run a basic Impress presentation I needed for work. I changed back to Apache OpenOffice, in fact, I used the British English version of 3.4.0 for ages until they finally released the British English 3.4.1. version. Which was released some time after the US English version was released. To be totally honest, I should have never bothered trying anything else. I think that a lot of people were concerned about the future of OpenOffice. I'm pretty sure Apache will do well with it & develop OO in the future. IMHO The Document Foundation are trying too hard to 'improve' LibO compared to OO. In my experience virtually every release I tried of LibO was not much more than a beta. If I wanted to be a test pilot for software products I would become a developmental software engineer.

I just need a reliable office suite. I have one now. I have been using it for over four years.

 

For fun, I installed both OO 3.41 and LibO 3.63 yesterday just to have a look, and happened to notice the relative sizes that showed up in the control panel programs section:

OpenOffice 3.41 314.0 MB
Lib O 3.63 384.8 MB (help files were 20.8MB)

I don't care about disk space used, but that's quite a difference..

PS - You can see quite a difference in installer file sizes too....

LibO bloat?

 

Different installer sizes stroke me too, i don't know what exactly goes on, but from the search i did, i found some immediate differences:

1) Libre has multilanguage installer and contains also all dictionaries, while Apache has single language installer and you download extra dictionaries at your own initiative (the installer contains only the dictionary of the installer's language you chose).

2) Libre has more features and i think the installer also comes with MS Visio import filter, while Apache doesn't.

3) Libre's GUI is more fancy, so requires more space?

 

Libre had a separate download for just the English Help Files, so that's 20.8 MB. The Libre installer was also at least 80MB larger.. Must be something going on there... Probably more features as you mentioned too... Interesting.... I don't know how much space the dictionaries would take up.... but it must be some there...

 

I don't know either what exactly they 've done, you 're right, the installer is about 80MB more. In user fora, Libre users brag for having eradicated from the original Open Office much obsolete code. So, i guess they 've found something else to fill the "holes" (features?), that's why it's still bigger.