Data Based Advisor articles from September 1995

Data Based Advisor archives from September 1995

IBM buys Lotus - developers react.
September 1, 1995... When IBM Chairman Louis Gerstner gave notice June 2 to Lotus Development Corp. President Jim Manzi that IBM would offer US$3.3 billion in cash to buy Lotus, the actions that followed were brief but momentous. Lotus quickly looked--to no...

Powersoft reveals strategy and next generation of PowerBuilder. (PowerBuilder 5.0 DBMS)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1995... About 4,800 people came to Orlando for the 1995 Powersoft International User Meeting and Training Conference. According to Powersoft, it has 150 Client-Server Open Development Environment (CODE) Partners, 300 Commercial Application Partners...

Yellow + blue = green? (Lotus/IBM merger)(Editorial)
September 1, 1995... Summertime's often a slow period, but not this summer! Consider the purchase of Lotus by IBM. Assuming the deal has closed (I'm writing just before the stock tender offer expires), IBM is in possession of several major assets: Lotus Notes,...

Feedback.(Letter to the Editor)
September 1, 1995... In the July 1995 issue of Data Based Advisor, David Baum's product listing entitled "Middleware, Gateways, and ODBC Software" failed to include information on Visigenic Software. Visigenic provides one of the most complete ODBC solution for...

Xbase comes to OS/2. (On-Line Data's OnCmd 1.1.5 DBMS) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
September 1, 1995... Remember back in the days of dBASE III+, but before dBASE IV? Ashton Tate owned the Xbase market. dBASE III+ 1.1 had just become available, and we were all ecstatic that Ashton Tate had given us the ability to draw boxes without resorting to...

Coming events. (Software Review)(Evaluation)
September 1, 1995... Sixth Annual Borland Developers Conference, San Diego, CA, August--Conference focuses on Windows and Windows 95 application development. All skill levels for dBASE, Delphi, Paradox, and Borland C++. Topics include solutions, programming, tools &...

Enhance your Sybase SQL Server application.(CAST Software Inc's CAST Workbench DBMS) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
September 1, 1995... CAST Workbench is a comprehensive suite of Windows-based MDI applications for developers who use Sybase/Microsoft SQL Server version 4.2 and above. Traditionally, most third-party tools that enhance SQL Server development address the needs of the...

Make the online connection.(U.S. Robotics' Sportster External 28,800 Data/Fax Modem) (Hardware Review)(Evaluation)
September 1, 1995... Do you ever upload or download code from clients? Do you ever try to access a client's computer remotely? Do time and effort on the World whether to look for ideas, do research, or to stay in touch with clients and colleagues? In this time of...

Take the work out of help authoring.(ForeFront Inc's ForeHelp 2.0 help authoring tool) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
September 1, 1995... If you struggle regularly with context strings, footnote codes, project files, and the other paraphernalia of Windows Help authoring, ForeHelp 2.0 from ForeFront, Inc. could be just what you need. This high-end help-creation tool slices the...

New software release uses intelligent agents. (Planning Sciences Inc's GENTIUM 2.0 decision support software)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1995... GENTIUM Version 2.0, a 2nd generation decision support and executive information system (DSS/EIS), uses true intelligent agents and Text Infobases to facilitate new methods of corporate information management, such as data warehousing and data...

DB2 data access simplified. (XDB Systems Inc's SQLWizard DBMS front-end software)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1995... SQLWizard, a new front-end tool, is an easy-to-use graphical tool for querying DB2 data from the PC. It increases developers' productivity, helping them to build and administer client-server applications. SQLWizard's features include the Query...

Top-to-bottom tuning. (JET Inspector 2.0; ODBC Inspector; SQL Inspector database engine tuning software) (Software Review)(Evaluation) (Evaluation)
September 1, 1995... While I can't speak for any of you, I've never had any users complain that my applications run too fast. I have, however, had to build timing loops around blocks of code in order to determine a performance bottleneck. Sometimes, I find that I can...

PowerBuilder applications generated automatically. (Computer Systems Advisers SILVERRUN for PowerBuilder integrated business modeling workbench)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1995... SILVERRUN for PowerBuilder, an integrated business modeling workbench, lets multiple developers graphically design client-server applications from 00 techniques in a single SILVERRUN data model. The app can then be deployed throughout an...

Client-server customer managmeent solution upgrade announced. (ONYX Software's ONYX Customer Center 2.0)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1995... ONYX Customer Center Version 2.0 manages all enterprise interactions from a single application and database, including quality assurance and integration with SQL-based order and financial systems. It combines functions for contact management,...

Associated Press anounces AP Server project using POET. (POET Software's DBMS)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1995... AP, the world's largest news organization, announced that its new news delivery infrastructure will be built on POET, an object database system. The new system will be set up to transmit news to AP servers around the world, and to provide...

Migrate VB apps to a a Windows client-server environment.(Extended Systems and SuccessWare International Inc's ROCK-E-T Client-Server DBMS)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1995... ROCK-E-T Client-Server, a scalable solution, will allow Visual Basic developers to develop Windows applications in VB that will run on a single PC, a multi-user network, or on a client-server system without having to write specifically to those...

Get word processing capabilities for your .VBX applications.(Napersoft Inc's DocLink/VB) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
September 1, 1995... Today's word processors offer an incredible array of tools and functionality, providing users with a host of time-saving, flexible solutions to modern business problems. If you develop applications within a .VBX environment and want to give users...

Testing...testing...1,2,3.4. (Software Quality Automation Inc's TeamTest testing software)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
September 1, 1995... SQA TeamTest extends its object-level support for Microsoft Visual Basic objects and VBXs to include the testing of all data and properties of VB objects and third-party VBXs. This lets users increase the flexibility and coverage of their Windows...

Telephony add-on tool. (Voysys Corp's voysAccess for Visual Basic interactive voice-response tool)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1995... voysAccess for Visual Basic is an interactive voice response (IVR) add-on tool that lets developers create new or enhance existing applications with voice-response capabilities. Comes with a custom control (.VBX), a VB add-on product that lets...

Imaging and multimedia. (Lenel Systems International's Lenel Gallery VBX GUI development tool)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1995... Lenel Gallery VBX is a graphical user interface tool for Windows applications. Lets developers integrate graphical thumbnail galleries, menus, and toolbars directly into their applications. Thumbnails can be selected, deselected, or moved, and...

Object Relational Database Management. (Omniscience Object Technology Inc's Omniscience Object-Relational Database Management System)(Product Announcement)(Brief Article)
September 1, 1995... The Omniscience Object-Relational Database Management System (ORDBMS) is a production quality object and relational database that supports native SQL and complies with standards for Windows apps. Supports caching, rollback and crash recovery,...

SQL queries in plain old English. (Linguistic Technology's English Wizard DBMS query tool) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
September 1, 1995... Trying to get users to communicate with a database is a modern day Tower of Babel. While users only talk in plain English, databases speak SQL. With this in mind, Linguistic Technology offers English Wizard, a query tool that strives to translate...

Raising the bar. (Microsoft SQL Server 6.0 DBMS) (Software Review)(Evaluation)
September 1, 1995... Somebody needs to straighten out the current trend (or lack thereof) in version numbering schemes. We've had a progression that includes 1.0, 1.1, 4.2, and now 6.0. Microsoft is working on Office 5.0, so that can't be it. Sybase has released...

The more things change... Xbase product names haven't changed much, but the way you think and work with them has changed a lot.(Developer's Issue)
September 1, 1995... Xbase product names haven't changed much, but the way you think and work with them has changed a lot. For the past 11 years, I've been an Xbase coder. I started out at the tail end of dBASE II, then went to Clipper and dBASE III PLUS. The...

ERwin ERX eases the data warehousing blues.(Price Waterhouse uses CASE tool)
September 1, 1995... Data warehousing is an ideal way to integrate your legacy systems with state-of-the-art technology. It lets you leverage your company's investments in old systems without compromising the effectiveness of the solution. Price Waterhouse's...

Getting it together: enhance workgroup productivity with groupware.
September 1, 1995... Ask a dozen people what the term "groupware" means, and you'll more than likely get a dozen different answers. The industry has produced yet another buzzword that leaves even the experts of the PC world fishing for a unified definition of this...

Johnson & Higgins automates workflow with Lotus Notes. (insurance brokerage manages document workflow with Lotus workgroup package)
September 1, 1995... E-mail, database, programming language, operating system--Lotus Notes is a synthesis of all of these things, and it's used to automate three basic functions: workflow management, database management, and communications. It's most powerful when...

DEC LinkWorks pays off at Bank of Montreal.(bank uses software for workgroup automation)
September 1, 1995... The Bank of Montreal had a problem that threatened to mushroom out of control if the proper steps weren't taken. Any hank official seeking specific critical customer data was bound for an exercise in frustration. "You'd end up with information...

Meeting the needs of captive audiences. (Electronic Data Systems provides computer-supported Capture Lab meeting rooms with the aid of workgroup tools)
September 1, 1995... One of the "necessary evils" of the typical workday is the business meeting. Traditional boardroom meetings, while necessary, often eat up precious work time and productivity. Also, such meetings don't allow everyone--including remote users--to...

Networking for workgroups.
September 1, 1995... One of the most important attributes of a workgroup network running client-server applications is reliability. In a cooperative environment, any down time can virtually stop the progress of the entire workgroup. To plan a crash-proof network, you...

uniVerse gives museum a public access system. (Dallas Museum of Art uses Questor Systems Inc's Argus collection management software and Vmark Software Inc's uniVerse DBMS)(includes related article on Pick data model)
September 1, 1995... Kevin Comaford had the same problems that other IS managers encounter when building a new computer system: too few resources, too little help, and too little time to put all the pieces together. The problem was that he wasn't an IS manager. He...

Tips for writing Windows Help.(Tutorial)
September 1, 1995... No self-respecting Windows application should make its way into the world without a decent help file. Users expect high-quality online help, and rightly frown on an application that doesn't provide it. As a developer, you can't afford to skimp on...

Catch bugs before users do: avoid tech support calls by bulletproofing your code. (debugging in Microsoft Access)(Tutorial)
September 1, 1995... Avoid tech support calls by bulletproofing your code. Many things can be done to decrease the likelihood of runtime errors in your Access applications. The list includes the use of Option Explicit, variable typing, adherence to naming...

Got a minute? Use these 10 tips to improve your apps.(Microsoft Visual Basic application development software)(Tutorial)
September 1, 1995... A case to writer's block prompts John to come up with several software "quick fixes," including a better way to fill combo boxes. "Some days you're the windshield," sings Mary Chapin Carpenter, "and some days you're the bug." It's true:...

How to build a hirerarchical list navigator.(PowreSoft Corp's PowerBuilder Pro DBMS)(Column)(Tutorial)(Technical)
September 1, 1995... Hierarchical list navigators are a standard user interface in Windows. The Windows File Manager is a good example of this metaphor: You drill down through the directories to view the files in a particular directory. You can use this same approach...

Importing comma-delimited ASCII files into a DataWindow.(PowerBuilder Tip)(Brief Article)(Tutorial)(Technical)
September 1, 1995... In PowerBuilder 3.Oa and 4.0, you can use the Importfile() function to import a tab-delimited ASCII file or a .DBF file into a DataWindow. The problem is that ASCII files often occur in a comma-delimited format, which the ImportFile function...

Developing a pen-based application using FoxPro.(FoxPro Developer)(includes glossary)(Column)(Tutorial)
September 1, 1995... With the growing popularity of mobile computing, pen-based apps will continue to proliferate. Here's how you can use FoxPro to develop such an application. When you develop a standard FoxPro for Windows application, you probably take data...

Find the right approach. (Pacific Gas Transmission Co automates gas-scheduling system with Microsoft's FoxPro DBMS)
September 1, 1995... Pacific Gas Transmission Company used FoxPro to automate its gas scheduling system and never missed a beat. Despite what many would have you believe, system development is far from a cut-and-dried procedure. Complex business requirements often...

Building a bridge to Lotus Notes with QuickObjects.(Gupta Corp's new QuickObjects DBMS utility)
September 1, 1995... Gupta Corporation offers users access to Notes from within SQLWindows applications with QuickObjects. When nearly 6,000 people from around the globe--some with high-priced scalper's tickets--converge on New Orleans to pay homage to a software...

Planning client-server systems.(Tutorial)
September 1, 1995... Client-server looks easy--at least on the surface. Replace your mainframe with some sort of a UNIX or Windows NT box running a database. Network it with lots of PCs running flashy GUIs, then add some code that lets everything talk to everything...

Btreive goes upscale. (interview with Btrieve Technologies Pres and CEO Ron Harris)(Interview)
September 1, 1995... This column focuses on the visionaries of this industry, bringing you the views and opinions of the people who shape the direction of client-server technology For this issue, I interviewed Ron Hartis, president and CEO of Btrieve Technologies,...

Creating an ODBC mediator between a mainframe and Lotus Notes. (using Borland International's dBase for Windows DBMS)(Tutorial)
September 1, 1995... Here's how dBASE for Windows can be used to get data from a mainframe to populate a Lotus Notes database. Many team of programmers and I recently encountered a company that needed to move data from a host-based Help desk system to a Lotus Notes...

Database confidential.(rumor)(Column)
September 1, 1995... When Buzz isn't out riding his favorite longboard or surfin' the Net, you can find him channel surfing a TV. He recently paddled past an IBM commercial that made him laugh with gusto. You might have seen it during the recent NBA playoffs--surfers...