Data Based Advisor articles from January 1990

Data Based Advisor archives from January 1990

COMDEX beat. (Editor's File) (editorial)
January 1, 1990... COMDEX Beat Vanguard (formerly Atlas), Microrim's graphical database, has no official ship date, but its capabilities astound, even in pre-beta. Microrim, an unsung hero of the database world, has undertaken one of the most ambitious...

Feedback. (letter to the editor)
January 1, 1990... Feedback How to write to Data Based Advisor... If you'd like to add you voice to Feedback, here are a few suggestions to ensure your letter makes it into our pages. Keep your letter brief--less than 250 words. If your letter...

The programmer principle. (personnel management)(The VAR Report) (column)
January 1, 1990... The Programmer Principle Have you ever encountered a lousy manager? I mean, so bad, you wondered how this person ever got the job? What was the tip-off? Probably bad dealings with subordinates, and even with you. Poor people skills is the...

The new 2.0! (Advanced Revelation)(Revelation Expert) (tutorial)
January 1, 1990... The New 2.0! Before continuing with last month's topic, let me go over some new information about version 2.0 of Advanced Revelation. The following is gleaned from the beta documentation. My copy of the beta disks themselves didn't arrive...

Driver training. (supporting multiple output devices with R:BASE)(R:BASE Lab) (tutorial)
January 1, 1990... Driver Training If you develop R:BASE applications for clients, you may have run into the output device dilemma. This occurs when you develop an application on a PC connected to printer A and your users run the application on printer B....

Faster forms and reports. (The Paradox Programmer) (designing forms and reports in Paradox)(includes related article on Link-Lock) (tutorial)
January 1, 1990... Faster Forms and Reports This month I'll demonstrate how PAL can help you copy text quickly when you design Paradox forms and reports. This will save you a lot of keystrokes and result in a cleaner, more uniform look. The time-saving...

Tough questions. (Structured Query Language subselects, part 1)(Hands-on SQL) (tutorial)
January 1, 1990... Tough Questions This month begins a four part mini-series devoted to subselects. That's because subselects are perhaps the first SQL topic that you may find a bit perplexing. First, I'll introduce subqueries with some simple examples. Next...

First program. (use of Control Center)(dBASE IV Primer) (tutorial)
January 1, 1990... First Program Last month I asked you to write data between files, in particular from the CUSTOMER table to INV HEAD, and from INV HEAD to the INVOICE detail table. With any experimentation, you'd have discovered that the Control Center...

The Perfect SETting. (handling temporary SET changes)(Hardcore Clipper) (tutorial)
January 1, 1990... The Perfect SETting When you write a new function, try to make it generic. You should be able to use it from any part of the program--without "side effects." This means it shouldn't change anything that calling routines rely upon, such as...

Getting under the hood of SQL Server. (Part 1) (includes related articles on definition of a database server, bare necessities for running SQL Server, jargon, books on SQL Server-related topics and products that work with SQL Server)
January 1, 1990... Getting Under the Hood of SQL Server So, you think you're ready to move from the bush leagues to the majors? Well, being able to install (and use!) your own database server system is probably the microcomputer user's equivalent to going Big...

Profile of a SQL Server pioneer. (John Tarbox of Canaan Analytics)
January 1, 1990... Profile of a SQL Server Pioneer John Tarbox is one of those rare "mainframers" who saw the potential of PCs back in the late '70s. A 1974 computer science grad, he made his living first as a COBOL programmer, then as an early IMS user,...

1990 predictions. (for database market)
January 1, 1990... 1990 PREDICTIONS Umang P. Gupta President and CEO Gupta Technologies, Inc. I predict significant growth in database server use on PC LANs, replacing traditional minicomputers systems. I see a significant increase in graphical user...

Why I'm not a guru. (Notes from the Underground) (column)
January 1, 1990... Why I'm Not a Guru I hate the term "guru," especially when someone applies it to me. I'd rather be a Wizard any day... To me guru implies some omniscient, beneficent authority who always has the last word. I may have the last word a lot,...

Back to the future. (new CEO at Mircrorim Inc.)(Dataline)
January 1, 1990... Back of the Future REDMOND, WA--Microrim, Inc. tendered the resignation of its CEO, David Hull, on Nov. 20, the first business day after COMDEX. Wayne Erickson, founder and chairman of the board, took over Hull's duties. According to the...

Part II: Back to the future. (recent history of Ashton-Tate)(Dataline)
January 1, 1990... Back to the Future, Part II TORRANCE, CA--If your feel like Ashton-Tate's been awfully quiet lately, you're right--not unlike a dear friend disappearing (only to crop up sporting a new face lift or a sleeker body). Since "Black August," when the...

Acceptance speech. (Dataline)
January 1, 1990... Acceptance Speech SAUSALITO, CA--Although Dataline hates anybody else's home slides, we rather enjoyed receiving a recent one from SBT Corp., sponsor of the ProGrammy Awards. It showed Howard Kroymann, the grand prize winner of their custom...

Questionable quote of the season. (Dataline)
January 1, 1990... Questionable Quote of the Season Larry Ellison, leader of the Oracle Pack, in the Wall Street Journal (as quoted by Chris Greendale, VP of Marketing at Ingres): "Sometimes I get my verb tenses mixed up. It makes life more provocative."

Favorite quote of the season. (Dataline)
January 1, 1990... Favorite Quote of the Season Alex Ozolins, Australian developer, on Nantucket's newest release: "They should rename it C(lipper)."

Mail order diploma. (catalog of software classes)(Dataline)
January 1, 1990... Mail Order Diploma ANDOVER, MA--All right, Dataline admits it. We love catalogs--in fact, it's our preferred mode of shopping. That's why we were downright excited by the arrival of Digital Consulting, Inc.'s new 44-page catalog of software...

Foreign writes. (software packages in foreign-language versions)(Dataline)
January 1, 1990... SAN DIEGO, CA--Software Products International chose COMDEX to introduce a new translation of their popular Open Access II multiple function program in Cyrillic (an alphabet used in Russia, Bulgaria, and other Slavic countries). It is their...

New kid on the block. (new dBASE newsletter)(Dataline)
January 1, 1990... New Kid on the Block PLAINFIELD, IN--Bill Hatfield, MIS Manager for QUE Corp. (the folks who publish all those computer books) and head of MicroMedia, recently told members of the Data Based Advisor Readers Exchange that he'll be publishing a new...

Showtime. (DB/EXPO planned)(Dataline)
January 1, 1990... Showtime SAN FRANCISCO--DB/EXPO, the "National Database Exposition and Conference," is back, this time at Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco from March 27 to 29. The sponsor, Norm DeNardi Enterprises, expects 250 exhibitors and...

Saving damaged dBASE data. (Software Review) (dSALVAGE Professional and dBASE File Recovery utility programs) (evaluation)
January 1, 1990... Saving Damaged dBASE Data The effort involved in retrieving damaged DBFs is like cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In the early days, dBASE II users needed trauma care--the available tools were first aid at best. Early on I learned about the...

Racing gear. (Software Review) (Triumph database management system) (evaluation)
January 1, 1990... Racing Gear Recently, I watched Greg LeMond win the Tour de France. It dawned on me that without good equipment LeMond would never have been able to do it. To win an event like the Tour de France, it takes a supreme effort on the part of...

Symmetry IV: charting a new course. (Software Review) (dBASE programming tool) (evaluation)
January 1, 1990... Symmetry IV: Charting a New Course Symmetry Software pushes their product, Symmetry IV, as a "complete development environment for dBASE programmers." While it may fall short of this description in a number of areas, it does have its uses....

dB Crayons: a TSR for PC-File. (Software Review) (terminate-and-stay resident dBASE utility program) (evaluation)
January 1, 1990... dB Crayons--A TSR for PC-File A little product with a colorful name appeared at my doorstep as I prepared the article, "dBASE In Residence," some months back (see the July 1989 issued). dB Crayons is a memory-resident program that could...

The changer and the CHANGED(). (programming in FoxBASE+) (tutorial)
January 1, 1990... The Changer and the CHANGED() Recently, a client asked me to design a database management system to organize their patient profiles according to federal and state record-keeping standards. One requirement was to devise a method to update...

Bit testing. (dBASE language programming) (tutorial)
January 1, 1990... Bit Testing Although dBASE has a number of data types for manipulating standard commands or functions, the bit (Binary InTeger) isn't included in this group. My program, BITTEST.PRG, demonstrates a simple technique for determining the bit...

Quick tour. (guide to '1990 Data Based Advisor Database Directory')
January 1, 1990... Quick Tour Okay, maybe you've already wasted enough time trying to find the right tool for your database management work. So let's get right to business. Here's quick tour of the 1990 Data Based Advisor Database Directory... How...

Introduction to a new decade: banking on database management systems. (overview of database technology) (technical)
January 1, 1990... Introduction To A New Decade Using a database management system in the '90s is a lot like going to the bank. Banks offer services, such as tellers, ATMs, drive-up windows, and touch-tone phone services that provide access to the vault....

Database directory 1990. (buyers guide)
January 1, 1990... DATABASE DIRECTORY 1990 A few years ago, database software for micros hardly existed. Now, if you need to manage your data--whether client or customer lists, inventory, accounting, sales, or many other tasks--you can find a plethora of...

User groups.
January 1, 1990... USER GROUPS ALASKA The Alaska Computer Society Ed Caldwell 6401 Downey Finch Anchorage, AK 99516 (907)345-0542 ALABAMA Alabama Clipper User Group Mike Neighbors 804 Jordan Lane Huntsville, AL 35816 (205)895-9187 Alabama...

Forms and programs with Superbase 4 Windows. (product announcement)
January 1, 1990... Forms and Programs With Superbase 4 Windows Precision Software announced Superbase 4 Windows, described by the company as "the form design, application development and relational database management system for Microsoft Windows." Superbase 4...

A helper for R:BASE. (HELP:R pop-up help system for R:BASE) (product announcement)
January 1, 1990... A Helper for R:BASE If you need a little help with R:BASE, get a HELP:R from Pinnacle Publishing. HELP:R is a pop-up help system that uses Tom Rettig's HELP system to give R:BASE users on-line assistance. by typing key words or by...

Clipper goes to school. (SmartMem memory management utility) (product announcement)
January 1, 1990... Clipper Goes to School I fyou need a memory diagnostic and management tool to use with Clipper, then try SmartMen from Integrated Development Corp. SmartMen solves Clipper memory problems. You can store memory variables in conventional or...

Simply SQL. (Access SQL relational database management system) (product announcement)
January 1, 1990... Simply SQL Access SQL, from Software Products International, is a relational database management system (DBMS) that brings SQL capabilities to novice users. Access SQL is a graphical DBMS operating under Microsoft Windows. With it, you...

Data bytes. (product announcement)
January 1, 1990... Data Bytes AccountMate is now ready for XENIX. This version, from SourceMate Information Systems, Inc., is titled AccountMate 2.0 PLUS UX. It was developed by Modular Business Systems, Inc. in conjunction with SourceMate. It's based on...

User groups. (listed by state)
January 1, 1990... User Groups Alabama MOBILE CLIPPER USER GROUP Gregory Hall 1676 Beltline Hwy. S. Mobile, AL 36693 (205) 666-5151 NORTH ALABAMA DATABASE USER GROUP-NADUG Jack Edwards 804 Jordan Lane Huntsville, AL 35816 (205) 895-9187 ...