Publishing from your database. (Database Report)

Ventura Database Publisher, $295 Ventura Software 800-822-8221 619-673-0172 InfoPublisher, $795 PageAhead Software 800-967-9671 206-441-0340 dbPUBLISHER Pro+, $695 Developer's Extension, $595 Digital Composition Systems 800-527-2506 602-870-7667

Whether your database system keeps financial records or tracks weather patterns, you do repetitive "things" to your records. You fetch a record, do something with it, replace it, fetch another record, and repeat the process.

Desktop publishing, however, involves a unique set of steps, from text processing to typographical layout. Like an artist, you determine how a document will look.

Database publishing teams the repetitive process of database management with the creative process of desktop publishing. The results are usually pleasing and exciting.

Most ordinary databases benefit from database publishing. Telephone books, equipment catalogs, train timetables, and price lists are all target applications for database publishing. If you need to produce desktop-publishing quality output from a changing set of data, database publishing is for you.

If you use a report writer for printed output, you may be wondering why you'd want to use a database publisher. Imagine two different parts lists. The first is a tabular list printed with a draft-quality line printer on green bar continuous paper. The report is bound at the top so you can easily flip through the pages to locate a part.

The second list is a laser-printed catalog with pictures and descriptions of each part. The part numbers are printed in italics, and the part names appear as headlines in larger, bold fonts. Your company logo is in the heading of each page. The list is bound on the left like a book; it might even be printed on both sides of the paper so you can skim through it.

If you're trying to sell a parts inventory system to a client, which report is …