Data Based Advisor articles from June 1991

Data Based Advisor archives from June 1991

Dataline.
June 1, 1991... New Clipper Libraries Address Networks and Windowing TORONTO, ONTARIO -- Artful Applications, Inc. has announced two new Clipper libraries, one for Novell network operations and the other for windowing. Artful NovLib gives Summer '87...

Back in the saddle again. (Editor on the go) (column)
June 1, 1991... Last year Ashton-Tate received a blow some though might be fatal. On December 11, 1990, its copyright on the dBASE line of software was unexpectedly invalidated by U.S. District Judge Terry Hatter. This was in response to a motion by Fox...

Feedback. (letter to the editor)
June 1, 1991... Ecological Issues In January/February's Delicious!, a healthfood-oriented magazine, an article discussed recycled coated paper, and that new plants will be able to recycle coated papers. Please let us know what your company is doing to...

Sourcerer's Apprentice specializes in re-runs. (Software Review) (Fast Takes) (evaluation)
June 1, 1991... If you do any serious programming and aren't using a version control system, you're missing out. I I know, because for the past month I've been using Solution System's new Sourcerer's Apprentice. Solution Systems are the folks who make Brief,...

Lamaura Development Ltd.
June 1, 1991... Lamaura Development Ltd. released the Lamaura Data Dictionary for X-Base products that use DBF, NDX, NTX, IDX, or MDX index formats. The data dictionary lets you design and test data structures, helps establish relationships among tables, and...

Gupta Technologies, Inc.
June 1, 1991... Gupta Technologies, Inc. announced SQL Windows for Oracle Client-Server System. The product, which bundles Gupta's SQL Windows Developer's System and Oracle router, is designed to allow LANs to access Oracle data. The package includes five...

UI2 templates speed clipper coding. (Village Software's ALLCLIP) (Fast Takes) (evaluation)
June 1, 1991... Wallsoft's U12, a labor-saving application generator, has spawned a new market, for third-party developers: template-language add-ons. U12 produces code by following the chosen template. While the word "template" may invoke images of rigid...

Update: Advanced AREV. (Revelation Technologies, Inc.)
June 1, 1991... Revelation Technologies, Inc. recently released Advanced Revelation (AREV) version 2.10, which adds QBE, foreign application support, and enhanced printer driver support. Building on the SQL implementation introduced in 2.0, AREV now...

Ashton-Tate Corp.
June 1, 1991... Ashton-Tate Corp. announced dBASE IV RunTime PLUS, which runs most dBASE IV version 1.1 applications on Macintosh personal computers without modification. Price at $195, the program gives Mac users access to existing dBASE IV applications....

R:BASE developers learn compiler is dead. (Microrim developers conference)
June 1, 1991... Seattle, WA--The "rebirth of Microrim" took place this past March when 200 developers and corporate users gathered for the first annual Microrim Developers Conference. CEO Jack Noonan offered proof by claiming that the R:BASE brand (R:BAE 3.1...

Data abstraction and object-oriented programming in C++.
June 1, 1991... This book, by Keith Gorlen, Sandy Orlow, and Perry Plexico, contains a wealth of information for those interested in object-oriented programming. It's a serious, well-written work, but the 400 pages isn't for casual readers who simply want to...

Working with your spouse. (The VAR report) (column)
June 1, 1991... Do you work with your spouse? Of course you do. People who are married or in a committed relationship share much of life--housework, yardwork, financial management, even childraising. Lots of couples say goodbye in the morning, shuffle off...

Add and delete records the right way. (Mac Rubel's power tools) (column)
June 1, 1991... You'll recall from last month that I take a dim view of DELETing and PACKing data tables. Still, you have to be able to get rid of records somehow. What do you do? My advice is to blank out record and then put the delete flag on using the...

A SCAN secret. (PAL Tip)
June 1, 1991... If you've ever needed to put a FOR long loop inside a SCAN, you may have found your program crashing, because FOR is used in two different ways in PAL. Primarily, it's used in FOR loops such as: FOR I FROM 1 to 10 or SCAN loops like: SCAN FOR...

Break the BROWSE barrier. (Hardcore Clipper) (column)
June 1, 1991... Last time I showed you how to use code blocks to write small, reusable routines. Code blocks allow you to parameterize the logic--as well as the data--with which your routines operate. We developed a routine that allows you to browse a...

Consulting tip. (tutorial)
June 1, 1991... Summary This month you've learned how to use code blocks to parameterize the logic of routines. Without changing one line of last month's tbrowse()code, you've used it to browse a flat file by passing code blocks. A former of the...

The truth about multi-tasking. (Windows tip ) (tutorial)
June 1, 1991... If you use Microsoft Windows in lieu of another multi-tasking program, you may notice times when you can't instantly switch between applications--especially if you're reindexing or packing a database. This means Windows' much-touted ability to...

Riders on the storm: Nantucket in the nineties. (Nantucket Corp's Clipper Compiler 5.01; includes related article on Aspen next-generation features)
June 1, 1991... Remember the spectacular "burning of Atlanta" scene in Gone With The Wind? Near the site of those famous flames is another source of intense energy. Not in Georgia, but in Southern California. Nantucket's main offices are just a few blocks...

Clipper 5.01: new and improved? (Software Review) (Nantucket Corp's Clipper Compiler 5.01; includes related article on a list of companies that offer training in Clipper 5.0) (evaluation)
June 1, 1991... While you may want to call Clipper 5.01 a mere fix disk, it's actually a new version in disguise. The real issue is how this new version compares to the one that came before. Clipper 5.0 had some problems that prevented many users from...

New Clipper elates and vexes users. (Nantucket Corp's Clipper 5.0)
June 1, 1991... Nantucket Corp. has taken its share of heat over Clipper 5.0, the latest version of their application development language. Though destined to pull Nantucket into the brave new world of object-oriented programming (and away from its roots in...

Making the move: converting apps from Summer '87 to 5.0. (Nantucket Corp's Clipper 5.0) (tutorial)
June 1, 1991... When considering converting an existing Clipper application to the new 5.0, the first question you should ask is, "Why bother?" If the application runs well enough, leave it alone--unless, of course, your client is willing to pay you to do the...

dBASE compatibility: still friends? (Nantucket Corp's Clipper 5.0)
June 1, 1991... A goal of all prior Clipper releases was to maintain a good level of dBASE compatibility. With the release of 5.0 however, coupled with the introduction of dBASE IV version 1.1, this goal no longes take priority with Nantucket. Clipper 5.0...

A new kind of library. (Nantucket Corp's Clipper 5.1)
June 1, 1991... Imagine, if you will, a multilingual add-on library. You could use it with Clipper while your colleagues used it with Force or BASIC or FoxPro or C or some other language. Finally, it would be built so other libraries could access it for...

DevCon down under. (Nantucket Corp's Clipper 5.1; australian Clipper Developers Conference)
June 1, 1991... The departure--Exploding from the limo at LAX in an eruption of DevCon T-Shirts and other trinkets for the Aussie natives, I encountered Dirk Lesko, the Earl of FUNCky, and their majesties Judd Cole and Jane Christie, Lord and Lady of Blinker...

PAL tip. (tutorial)
June 1, 1991... If you want to emulate Paradox's ability to change a color screen to black and white (which happens when the program asks, "Are you using a color monitor right now," and you press N for No), try the following steps: 1. Activate the PAL...

From mainframe to PC at a major New York City bank. (includes related article on Clipper 5.0)
June 1, 1991... Clipper 5.0? This Developer Says No! The Darien Consulting Group Collection System at Manufacturers Hanover Trust bank was written in Clipper Summer '87. Clipper 5.0 hadn't settled down enough for us to use it in a production...

How to refresh the screen. (Hands-on dBASE/FOXBASE+) (column)
June 1, 1991... Local Area Network (LAN) development imposes additional technical challenges for the systems developer, different from those encountered in a purely single-user application. One issue is making sure users see information that is as fresh as...

To print or not to print. (Clarion tip; screen dumps) (tutorial)
June 1, 1991... Pressing the Shift-PrSc keys usually sends a screen dump to the printer, but sometimes you may want to keep this form happening. The system ROM BIOS keeps track of the PrSc status with a byte located in low memory at address 0050:0000 Hex....

Filling in with ObjectVision. (Windows Development) (column)
June 1, 1991... The Editors wanted an article on Borland International's new ObjectVision. Okay, I thought, sounds good. After working with ObjectVision for a few weeks, I began those subconscious steps most writers are familiar with--walking down the street...

FoxPro 2.0: What's in it for you? (Software Review) (evaluation)
June 1, 1991... FoxPro 2.0, which is expected to be released by the time you read this (the single-user and LAN versions will ship at the same time), introduces a revolutionary way of developing software applications. It's a quantum leap beyond the...

Debug through the backdoor. (Clipper tip) (tutorial)
June 1, 1991... When you add debugging code to your programs, don't be so hasty remove it before distributing the application. By leaving it in, you get a "backdoor." Here's how to make it work for you. Clipper provides the FILE() function, which you can...

Fake arrays. (Paradox tip) (tutorial)
June 1, 1991... Paradox only allows one-dimensional arrays. But you can simulate multi-dimensional arrays and avoid using parallel arrays to process related information with the following procedure. For example, suppose you have two parallel arrays. The...

Build it right the first time. (Software Engineering) (column)
June 1, 1991... Mention "software engineering" to the average PC developer and you'll probably get a response like, "Oh yeah, that's what they do when building huge systems like the Star Wars project. Doesn't apply to me, though." In fact, software...

Windows-aware. (Opinions) (column)
June 1, 1991... Last time I discussed some of the changes I've seen from the users' viewpoint in vendor share of the X-Base marketplace. Of course, X-Base is only a small part of the overall computer world. All the X-Base dialects, users, and developers are...

Hog fat and sloth slow. (Opinions) (column)
June 1, 1991... Microsoft Windows is the wave of the '90s but in database work. I'll stick with text mode. GUI technology adds hardware costs that aren't justifiable. Right? I've thought it, and I bet you have, too. But it's emphatically wrong. Windows...

Developers done dirty. (Opinions) (column)
June 1, 1991... Can you tell me why, as a software developer, I have to buy SQL Server at full price if I want to write some applications that will help Microsoft and Sybase sell more of their products? Why isn't there a $199 version for developers with...

Why we need object-oriented design tools. (Opinions) (column)
June 1, 1991... We use software to handle demanding tasks every day, from controlling critical space shuttle systems during launches to controlling electricity generation in power plants that supply entire regions. A new buzzword, "mission critical," has made...

Keystroke economy. (R;BASE tip) (tutorial)
June 1, 1991... If you're using R:BASE's editor, to develop programs, you can save debugging time by cutting keystrokes. For instance, when you start to edit a program, type: RBE Progname Abbreviating RBE to three characters is critical to the time...

From the front. (DB/Expo Field Report; includes related articles on how companies are involved in downsizing, Windows, independent developers and consultants, topics at the show,)
June 1, 1991... SAN FRANCISCO--If you've been looking for database and client-server information, DB/EXPO, a database exposition sponsored by DeNardi Enterprises, is a good place to start. At their latest show, held in Moscone Center, dozens of companies...

A corporate perspective on DB/EXPO.
June 1, 1991... My current project at Pacific Bell involves downsizing applications that people use to access mainframe data. We intend to switch from 3270 emulation software on PCs to a Windows 3.0 environment with access to a networked database management...

All lines lead to the forum. (DB Connections; CompuServe Information Services; includes related article on data base companies that offer information and support on CompuServe) (column)
June 1, 1991... Can you remember what you were doing in 1982 about this time? If this time happens to be around 11:00 at night, I was probably on-line at 300 baud, burning up the rent money, downloading BASIC programs from the CBM Forum with my C64. Back...

Database confidential.
June 1, 1991... Nothing wakes folks up like sumthin' for nuthin'. It happened at the recent Paradox Users Conference in sleepy Scottsdale, Arizona. Tuesday night's fun-filled outdoor cowpoke cook-out featured quick-draw contests, two-stepping and Philippe...