rf@wu1.UUCP (02/07/85)
Response to this survey was sparse, and responses were short.
Dave Bernard of the Santa Cruz Operation recommends Informix from RDS
(Relational Database Systems.)
D.M. Tutelman (ihnp4!ahuta!dmt) referred me to dBASE II, noting that it
isn't as hard to use as is generally said. ($400, Ashton-Tate)
Someone at pur-ee!pucc-k!purdue!qgq recommended KnowledgeMan from
Micro Data Base Systems, but didn't say why. ($400)
Someone whose correspondence I've lost recommended dBASE III (Ashton-Tate).
I myself have seen, but do not recommend, Metafile, from Metafile (formerly
known as Sensor-Based Systems.) ($1,000)
Since my original posting, I have personally evaluated dBASE II, Metafile,
and KnowlegeMan. Of the three, I prefer KnowlegeMan. It appears to be the
sanest of the three programs.
dBASE II is . . . useable, but there's very little to do which will make it
pleasant. The programming language is given to odd quirks. For instance,
strings of length zero are not allowed, making it difficult to code certain
loops. There are entirely too many statements, and entirely too many
inconsistencies between them. The built-in screen handling and report
generation facilities are primitive, but alternate facilities are available
from other vendors.
Metafile has an agile screen-handler, but is hard enough to use to give
pause. All commands must be in UPPER CASE. Though it has extensive menus,
commands are difficult to find. It's extremely easy to get dumped out of
the menu handler and there's no hint on the screen that tells you how to get
back in. To prevent piracy, Metafile requires a box attached to the pc's
COM1 port. All the salesmen assured me that this box would not interfere
with communications, but none of them would tell me what it would respond
to. It's difficult to judge the reliability of such a box . . . if it did
interfere with communications, how would I ever find out? And this is the
most expensive of the packages.
KnowlegeMan is the best of the lot. It is works in a way which makes me
feel that it was *designed*. The command language is consistent. The
programming language is spare, but, after dBASE II, that's a relief. The
basic package includes a primitive screen manager and report generator.
Fancier tools are available at extra cost (not seen, therefore not
evaluated). For turnkey systems builders an un-programmable version is
provided at the cost of $100 per site.
Uucp: {decvax,ihnp4}!philabs!wu1!rf Randolph Fritz
Easylink: 62905318 Western Union Telegraph
phone: 1-201-529-6238 90 McKee Dr.
1-201-529-6221 Mahwah, NJ 07430