Paper chain. (Software Review) (evaluation)

Paper Chain

Most traditinal database management systems (DBMSs) don't recognize large chunks of text as data. Paradox, for example, allows a maximum of 256 characters in an alphanumeric field; dBASE III PLUS has memo fields, but doesn't allow you to do very much with them. Most DBMSs limit you to handling related data items stored in structured fields arranged in structured tables.

But what if you need to handle text as data? Paradox and sBASE III PLUS aren't much help. The very structured order of DBMSs, which allows them to function so well, severely limits them when you want to work with unstructured data, such as the random arrangement of words in a text file. But ish't text really just data, too? A text editor or word processor allows you to change text, search for specific items, and rearrange text--within limits. When you compare them with the data handling capabilities of even "flat-file" DBMSs, like the shareware program PC-File III, the data handling capabilities of text editors and word processors seem quite limited.

A special type of text handling soft ware has evolved over the last few years, called "text database managers." These products store blocks of unstructured text as records, just as regular DBMSs store structured data as records. Text database managers allow you to search records stored in a "textbase" for specific text, just as DBMSs can search databases for data and records. Most text database managers also have reporting capabilities to process the results of a search, just like a DBMS report.

This review looks at askSam version 4.1, probably the most powerful and well known of the text database managers, from askSam Systems (formerly Seaside Software). askSam lets you do just about anything with text that DBMSs allow you to do with structured data. In fact, askSam can also handle most regular DBMS data handling chores, as well as text. And with its "hypertext" capabilities, askSam 4.1 lets you link related text.

PIM Hype

The first thing I noticed about the askSam upgrade from version 4.0 to 4.1, the cover and title page of the manual no longer call this software, "The Text Based Management System." It's now "The Information Manager for the PC." Obviously, askSam Systems has decided to jump on the personal information manager (PIM) band-wagon being hyped by Lotus for its new program, Agenda. Apparently, what's good for a giant manufacturer like Lotus just has to be good for a small company like askSam Systems. Oh, by the way, other than the changes in the cover and title page, I couldn't find any differences between the version 4.0 and 4.1 manuals.

Since askSam 4.1 now appears to be targetted at Agenda, I got a copy of the Lotus program to review, so I could compare the two programs. But after looking at Agenda, I…