Data Based Advisor articles from March 1992

Data Based Advisor archives from March 1992

Dataline.
March 1, 1992... BELLEVUE, WA -- Though Microrim began shipping R:BASE 3.1c, a sped-up version, on January 20, the company's future appears cloudy. We hear that Microrim has been shopping its products around, trying to find buyers for R:BASE and Personal...

Remembering Glenn Hart... (Foxtalk editor dies; Dell Computer 320N notebook computer) (Editor On The Go) (Editorial)
March 1, 1992... The database world has lost one of the good ones, Glenn Hart. On January 14, while dining with Fox Software staff and friends in San Francisco, Glenn died of a heart attack. He was 46. Glenn was in San Francisco as part of the Fox...

The Fox files. (Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 1992... Concerned with solutions The strangest peculiarity of the computer industry is the absence of more articles like "Interface: Why'd You Do the Things Yo Do?" (December 1991) by Brian J. Smith and Dian Schaffhauser. Why do the finest...

Corrections. (Correction)
March 1, 1992... In John Mueller's "Anthora is Database Management, Windows-Style" (January), we misquoted Anthora's retail price; it should be $295. Contact Evolution Trading, Inc. at (305) 593-1516.

Dr. Switch adds Bells and Whistles. (Black & White International Inc.'s Dr. Switch-ASE 2.0 program development software)(Application Swapping Extension) (Software Update) (Test Drives) (Evaluation)
March 1, 1992... The latest offering from Black & White International brings along a few new bells and whistles to memory swapping. Dr. Switch-ASE version 2.0, like its predecessors, allows you to make your Clipper, dBASE III PLUS, dBASE IV, FoxBASE+, or...

Blink Inc. (Blinker 2.0 program development software) (Product Announcement)
March 1, 1992... Blink, Inc. released Blinker 2.0, a language-independent version of of its dynamic overlay linker. Blinker 2.0 links and overlays programs written in assembler, Borland C/C++, Microsoft C, BASIC, QuickBASIC, Watcom C, Zortech C++, and Clipper...

Korenthal Associates Inc. (PhDbase Developer's Edition search software) (Product Announcement)
March 1, 1992... Korenthal Associates, Inc. shipped phDbase Developer's Editions. PhDbase performs database searches based on incomplete, mis-typed, or misspelled queries using a combination of phonetic index and fuzzy searching. The developer versions are...

MemoPlus takes care of pesky memos. (Platinum Software International's file management software) (Software Review) (Test Drives) (Evaluation)
March 1, 1992... MemoPlus is a set of utilities for working with memo fields created by dBASE III PLUS and IV, Force, FoxBASE+, FoxPro 1.x and 2.0, Clipper, and dBXL and Quicksilver. You don't need the database program to use MemoPlus--it works with the DBFs....

Clipper developers pack first Russian DevCon. (Nantucket Corp. holds first developers' conference in Obninsk, Russia)
March 1, 1992... OBNINSK, RUSSIA--Nantucket Corp.'s president, Larry Heimendinger, once told me: "The personal computer is the best way to give personal freedom to a human being." Obviously, that's why programming was a popular underground culture in the...

What's new in dBASE IV 1.5. (Software Preview) (Borland International Corp.'s data base management system)
March 1, 1992... Here are the expected changes in the forthcoming dBASE IV 1.5 from Borland International (beta testing at press time). New commands @...SCROLL @ , TO; , SCROLL; [UP/DOWN/LEFT/RIGHT]; [BY ] [WRAP] Shifts the contents of a...

A general-purpose selection box. (Hardcore Clipper) (column) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... A selection box is a common user interface tool; it allows users to select many items from a list. There are various ways of programming a selection box in Clipper; I'll show you what I believe to be the simplest, smallest, most efficient way...

More scripts you can count on. (Paradox Programmer)(column) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... Last time, I showed PAL programs for filling sequential numbers into records "off-line." This month, I'll demonstrate several different techniques for numbering records "on-line" as you add them, with fragments of PAL code to accomplish them....

CodeBase - Xbase in C's clothing. (Sequiter Software's CodeBase 4.5)(C/C++ developer) (column) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... C is a rich language that provides exceptional performance and portability, but is too low-level for many database applications programmers. In contrast, Xbase allows rudimentary to moderately complex database applications to be built with...

Growing a healthy business. (The VAR Report)(value-added resellers) (Column)
March 1, 1992... A business grows very much like a child. A beautiful baby does not, unfortunately, guarantee a beautiful, healthy adult. Lots of care and love is required to help a child grow up healthy and responsible. A lot of planning is part of the...

Is expansion right for you? (The VAR Report)
March 1, 1992... As unlikely as it may seem in these recessionary times, too much business can prove to be as devastating as too little. Growth, like downsizing, must be managed with caution and consideration. Expansion comes in many forms. It might be...

Looking beneath the surface. (selecting a data base front-end tool) (Client/Server Advisor)
March 1, 1992... There are probably over 100 front ends on the market, but few suited for serious client/server computing and relational databases. Don't get me wrong; the needs of casual users, read-only applications, or applications that don't manipulate...

The time it takes. (Corporate Computing) (developing client/server applications)
March 1, 1992... Over the past few months I've addressed a number of key issues that contribute to the success of a client/server project, including selecting and training the project tem. Now I'll move on to development issues, specifically, project life...

Client/server applications as corporate assets. (Memo To Management)
March 1, 1992... Applications, which consist of data and software, aren't corporate assets in the same sense as furniture and property. Because applications are ephemeral, they require special attention to preserve their value. In designing applications...

Ease Windows development with SQLWindows. (Gupta Technologies Inc.'s program development software)(structured query language)(Windows Front Ends) (Client/Server Advisor) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... With the introduction of Windows 3.0 and OS/2 PM, my clients had great hopes that this new technology would replace, or at least enhance, their existing systems. That meant they expected me to be able to do it. To achieve this, I experimented...

Emerald Bay. (data base management system)(Tuning Tips) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... Emerald Bay is simpler because it doesn't support structured query lanuguage (SQL). Instead, the level of data access is much closer to that provided by traditional Xbase dialects. This exclusive support for a low-level database access...

Interbase. (Tuning Tips) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... The command examples below use standard Unix V syntax. VAX, Apollo, and other variations can be found in the Interbase manuals. * 1. Increase page size. The page size determines how many bytes (1024, 2048, 4096, or 8192) are allocated to...

Oracle Server. (Tuning Tips) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... Relational database application tuning has a number of dimensions, each of which needs to be understood and exploited to achieve the desired effect. There are many possible goals in tuning a database server: performance, concurrency, memory...

SQLBase. (Tuning Tips) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... The rules for optimizing SQLBase can be divided into two categories. First, there are the general optimizing rules that apply to all databases. Then there are those rules that are unique to SQLBase. I'll focus on those unique to SQLBase, but...

Microsoft SQL Server. (SQL Server 4.2 and 1.X)(Tuning Tips) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... * 1. Cascading trigger support requires some overhead from the 4.2 Server. If you don't need cascading trigger support, turn it off with the following commands: sp[underscore]configure "nested triggers" ,0 reconfigure * 2. Use DBCC...

The ups and downs of downsizing.
March 1, 1992... The barriers to successful downsizing aren't always technological. Consider the following case, in which a consultant helped a major Northeastern oil refiner (which the developer prefers not to identify) successfully downsize a contract...

Remote client/server computing plus-inexpensive disk space! (Microsoft Corp.'s Remote Access Service)(System Integration Tips) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
March 1, 1992... One of the nice things about client/server is that you can look at your data with so many different front ends. One challenge has been providing mobile users, such as salesmen using laptops in the field, with a way to look at that data from a...

From the river flows... (Charles River Data Systems' Relational Accelerator product line) (Packets; Client/Server Advisor) (Brief Article)
March 1, 1992... Charles River Data Systems announced new pricing, as well as a new distribution plan, for their Relational Accelerator products. The new pricing breaks Oracle's $2,000 transaction per second (tps) price/performance barrier by lowering their...

What's new with DataEase? (DataEase International's DataEase 4.5, DataEase SQL Connect) (Packets; Client/Server Advisor)(brief article) (Product Announcement)
March 1, 1992... DataEase International shipped DataEase 4.5 and DataEase SQL Connect engine driver support for Oracle Server and Microsoft/Sybase SQL Server. Both products are based on the DataEase PRISM open architecture. DataEase 4.5 adds features such as...

From the Foundation up. (Andersen Consulting's Design/1 for Windows, Plan/1 for Windows computer-aided software engineering software) (Packets)(brief article) (Product Announcement)
March 1, 1992... Andersen Consulting of Chicago, Ill. introduced two new components of FOUNDATION--their CASE product set. DESIGN/1 for Windows is a software analysis and design tool which allows organizations to reuse development objects and data from a...

The newest Nomad. (Must Software International's Nomad Extended program development software) (Packets; Client/Server Advisor)(brief article) (Product Announcement)
March 1, 1992... Must Software International shipped version 3.1 of NOMAD for DOS and OS/2. The new product, called NOMAD Extended, features DOS extender technology acquired from Rational Systems, Inc. NOMAD 3.1's extender breaks the DOS 640K barrier. OS/2...

Microsoft and Macintosh...could it be? (TechGnosis International's SegueLink Client/Server MiddleWare) (Packets; Client/Server Advisor)(brief article) (Product Announcement)
March 1, 1992... TechGnosis International, in cooperation with Microsoft Corp., announced the first client/server computing solution for SQL Server and Apple Mac computers. SegueLink Client/Server MiddleWare is a set of client and server-based software that...

A client/server relationship. (Cincom Systems to market and distribute Gupta Technologies Inc.'s products) (Packets) (Brief Article)
March 1, 1992... Cincom Systems signed an agreement with Gupta Technologies giving Cincom marketing and distribution rights for Gupta's line of LAN-based graphical PC tools and database gateways. This agreement gives Cincom the right to sell Gupta's...

Speed up that app! (Performance Tuning - overview of series of tutorials)
March 1, 1992... When you've done everything you can think of to make your application run faster--and its performance still gets you grinding your teeth--don't give up hope. . .There's always something new to try. To prove it, we invited top database...

How to speed up your AREV applications. (Performance Tuning) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... 1. Extract a real field by referencing its field number 2. Reduce the number of displayed Associated MultiValued values "n" a window 3. Set the recalculate mode to "According to Dependence" 1. Extract a real field by referencing...

Speed up your Clarion applications. (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... As with any language, performance tips for Clarion vary in complexity. Don't overlook simple ideas, such as reading a data file in record order instead of by key. Sometimes, the true speed issue takes a back seat to the appearance of speed....

10 ways to speed up your Clipper application. (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... Clipper 5.0 provides direct language support for optimization tactics previously found only in languages like C. I start things off with a long tirade against PRIVATE and PUBLIC memory variables. Please endure the lecture--you'll be pleased...

Four ways to speed up your DataEase applications. (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... 1. Index unique fields 2. Try indexing key fields in related forms 3. Avoid SUM OF and COUNT OF in reporting operations 4. Consider file locking instead of record locking Whether you're running DataEase standalone or on a...

10 ways to speed up your dBASE IV applications. (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... 1. Cache up your computer system 2. Fine-tune DOS 3. Massage memory with dBASE IV configuration settings 4. Use memory-friendly coding techniques 5. Avoid using SORT, SET FILTER, JOIN, and macro substitution. 6. Balance...

Popup on the trigger. (The Fox Files) (Client/Server Advisor)(column) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... In February, I discussed the use of DEFINE POPUP PROMPT popups with @..GET VALID clause UDFs. This time I'll expand that discussion to include arrays, browses, @..GET WHEN clauses, and invisible buttons. So far, we've provided users with a...

17 ways to speed up your Foxpro application. (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... 1. Try BROWSE KEY instead of BROWSE FOR 3. Experiment with SEEK..WHILE vs. FOR 3. Try INSERT INTO in place of APPEND BLANK in multi-user applications 4. Use APPEND FROM instead of INSERT INTO in shared files 5. Keep...

Eight ways to speed up your Paradox applications. (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... 1. Don't use PLAY. 2. Rebuild libraries completely. 3. Don't use the Personal Programmer. 4. Use AUTOLIB. 5. Try QuerySpeed. 6. Write small procs. 7. Tighten up your queries. 8. Put private directories on...

Eight ways to speed up your R:BASE applications. (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... 1. Make linking columns integers 2. Minimize columns per table by removing redundant information 3. Rename forms and reports so that the first two characters are unique 4. Index linking columns in both tables 5. Avoid...

How to speed up your SQLWindows applications. (Performance Tuning) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... To optimize your programs on the back end: 1. Move to a faster machine 2. Fine-tune SQL queries 3. Consider stored procedures to save compile time On the front end: 1. Keep programs small 2> REduce the...

The high price of piracy in Europe. (software piracy) (International Report)
March 1, 1992... BOTTOM LINE Before pushing your product in Europe, consider the hidden expense that software piracy can cost your company. Enforcement, as done by the U.S.-based SPA, is only now beginning. The European Community (EC) is rapidly...

What software copyright laws allow. (European Community's directive on software copyright) (International Report)(related to 'The High Cost of Software Piracy in Europe')
March 1, 1992... The European Community's directive on software copyright threatened a major fissure in the computer industry. Most of its provisions are noncontroversial. Computer programs are classed as literary works and--subject to a test of...

Nantucket's chief scientist talks development. (Senior Vice President of Development Brian Russell) (Interview)
March 1, 1992... How's Aspen coming? BRIAN RUSSELL: It's coming along very well. It's a complex product--and there are a lot of parts to it. Probably the initial effort of the Aspen project was trying to address two main areas. One was the advanced...

Clipper 5.01. (Version Control) (Bugs and Fixes)
March 1, 1992... On April 15, 1991--seven months after the initial release of Clipper 5.0--Nantucket released, at no charge to its users, version 5.01. Since then, the following idiosyncrasies of 5.01 have been uncovered by the Clipper user community. All...

FoxPro 2.0. (Version Control) (Bugs and Fixes)
March 1, 1992... Fox Software has made a commendable effort to respond to bugs or anomalies as they are identified in Foxpro 2.0. These "fixes" have taken the form of a series of patches to the baseline product. As of this writing, there have been a total of...

Options for maintaining indexes. (The Expert Series: Paradox) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... Last time, I introduced the idea of a "tools menu" for the System Administrators of your applications. Let's discuss routines in that menu that permit the Administrator to add and delete secondary indexes. Paradox secondary indexes are...

Shady characters. (The Expert Series: Clipper) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... Shadowing windows and boxes can provide the illusion of depth for an application's screen and it can give a program a more sophisticated feel. To implement window shadowing, many Clipper developers turn to C or a third-party library, and...

A COMmon problem. (The Expert Series: Windows) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... A common Windows problem is an inability to access more than two communications ports. There isn't a universal solution to the problem, but you may be able to make minor software or hardware modifications to get COM3 and COM4 working. ...

Learn by example - scroll a list! (The Expert Series: FoxPro) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... An attendee at a Flash training class recently posed the question, "Is it better to learn the Power Tools or the language?" The answer to this question is yes; you have to learn both to use FoxPro in the best possible manner. Since the...

Expand report capabilities with UDFs. (user defined functions) (The Expert Series: dBASE IV) (Tutorial)
March 1, 1992... dBASE IV's report generator has all the features of the most sophisticated stand-alone product. With a little creativity, you can produce even the most complex reports with little programming effort. Last time, we discussed using UDFs to...

Controlled rapid prototyping. (Software Engineering)
March 1, 1992... An undeniable advantage of new-generation application development tools, such as FoxPro 2.0 and WordTech's forthcoming Arago, is the ability to incrementally develop systems. Developers can get an incomplete picture of what the client is...

Keeping up with the pack. (CompuServe Data Based Advisor Forum information resources)
March 1, 1992... Today's technology changes so fast that by the time it's installed, it's on the way to being out-moded. This presents a major challenge to today's computer professional: how to keep up. Although it's not a magic bullet, adding CIS and the...

Database confidential.
March 1, 1992... Cruising I-90 near I-405 in Bellevue, Washington, Buzz recently noted plenty of places to park at Microrim. Why? Thirty more people are gone. This puts the staff of the R:BASE company at about 50, down from perhaps 140 in 1990. Among the...