drew@orsvax1.UUCP (Drew Lucy) (06/05/86)
SoftWood Co. recently released "Mi Amiga File"; a data base management program for the Amiga. It offers some interesting possibilities but also takes some getting used to. The following are my impressions after using the product for about 15 hours. OVERVIEW: This data base was designed from the ground up with the strengths of a mouse driven system in mind. Other than actual data entry, all operations can be carried out with the mouse. It is not a fancy relational data base like "dbase II" but rather a simple record manager along the lines of "PFS: File" or "Data Perfect". The program allows you to view your data in two different formats. "List" format provides an overview of the data arranged like a spreedsheet. The rows are the records. Eleven records are displayed on one screen. The columns are the fields. Column widths are individually adjustable. You can scroll horizontally and verically across this spreedsheet. "Forms" format is used to enter data and also provides a more traditional view of your data. In this format, one record is displayed at a time. Using just the mouse, you can easily customize the arrangement and the size of the fields in this form. There can be upto 32 fields in a record. Since there is room for only nine lines of data on a screen, a single record can require upto four screens to display all its information. A scroll gadget is provided for looking at sections of such multiscreen records. THE GOOD POINTS: * The entire data base is RAM resident so, access is surprisingly fast. The program does know how to use "fast" RAM if it's available. * The program is not copy protected and comes on a fully loaded Work Bench disk. * Searches can AND together multiple criteria by repetitively filtering a set of records that is, itself, the result of a previous search. Since multiple passes over the data base are required, this could be a slow process if there alot of records but, since the whole data base is memory resident, individual searches are very fast. * Data base creation in general and forms creation in particular are very easy, thanks to the Intuition interface. * Browsing through a data base is fast and easy thanks in part to the List format but also to the intelligent implemetation of scroll gadget functions. In the List format, for example, you can scroll by line, by screen or by a arbitrary amount. * Data base files don't have to be on the same disk as the program. I wouldn't have concidered this to be a plus before I saw "Textcraft". * The documentation claims that the program does not use fixed length records. This is a big plus for a RAM resident data base that is tight on space. * The 60 page manual is clearly written if not perfectly organized. The program is so easy to use that you could figure out 90% of its opreation without reading the manual. However, you're going to want to know about that other 10%. THE BAD POINTS: * The entire data base is RAM resident so, 512K is the minimum amount of RAM required. On a 512K machine you are limited to a surprisingly small number of records. The program, itself, consumes about 90K. If your record form fills the Forms screen, you'll be limited to about 900 records. * Although technically the program supports multitasking, I was unable to execute the "dir" command from CLI while it was running because there wasn't enough free memory available. There is probably a way around this problem. * You can not do searches that OR together multiple criteria. It would be nice if you could add to the set of "selected" records from previous searches by doing additional searches on the entire data base. * Fields are limited to a maxium of 64 charactors. You can partially get around this problem by using multiple fields but, this will eventually run you up against the 32 fields/record limit. For my needs, this is the program's fatal flaw. * Report generation capabilities are minimal. You are limited to printing selected fields (columns) from the List format or mailing labels from the Forms format. You may also print individual screens (not records) one at a time. * I suspect that there will be a problem with the spacing between labels. There doesn't appear to be any way to modify this parameter. If the label spacing on your paper doesn't match what the program is looking for, you're out of luck. I'll bet that you will have to write a short program to reformat the mailing label output of Mi Amiga File to make it useable. Fortunately, there is an option to "print" the labels to an ASCII file. So, you only need a program that massages this file. There are two bright spots. When printing lists, numeric fields are automatically totaled and, you can generate 132 charactor per line printouts from the list format. BUGS: * This is a small thing but, it is driving me crazy. The program's reading of the Shift key is very flaky. 80% of the time I get lower case when I wanted upper case. This problem is damn near fatal. I've stopped trying to enter capital letters. * I think there is a bug in the way mouse button clicks on the right scroll bar are handled. The program has a nice auto repeat feature which sometimes goes astray and scrolls several positions when it shouldn't. It doesn't happen too often and is not a serious problem. WISH LIST: * I would like to see this program (and others) support interlace mode, doubling the number of lines of information on the screen. You wouldn't want to use it all the time because of eye strain but, it would come in handy some times. SUMMARY: The problems with entering capital letters and the 64 charactor limit on field lengths prevent me from being able to recommend this program unequivocally. Beyond these "implementation details", there are other design flaws (omissions) in the program. The program *is* useful but, less so than I expected. It seems to me that this program is about 90% finished. What exists works and shows promise but, Mi Amiga File needs to go through a major enhancement/revision cycle before it will be a truely viable product. So, send in those registration cards. With lots of RAM and a couple of enhancements, this program could be a winner. "Mi Amiga File" lists for $100.00 but is available from discounters for about $80.00. SoftWood's address is: SoftWood Company P.O. Box 2280 Santa Barbara, CA 93120 (805)966-3252 Drew Disclaimer: "What did I ever say that gave you the impression that I know what I'm talking about?" "Anyone who is willing to give you their opinion has probably assessed its value and concluded that no one is willing to pay for it."
page@ulowell.UUCP (Bob Page) (06/16/86)
I also have MiAmiga File. It is seriously broken under V1.2 of the system software. A mouse click just about anywhere will freeze the system. This happens under all the alpha releases and both beta versions. I have contacted SoftWood about this; they haven't tested it under V1.2 and were previously unaware of any problems. In fact, they suggested I make sure I send in my registration card in case they find some bugs at a future date. Hmph. It is of course possible that V1.2 is messed up and not MiAmiga File, in all fairness to SoftWood, but I have noticed (under V1.1 of the Amiga OS) that MiAmiga File does some things that Intuition doesn't do, so maybe the package is emulating Intuition to some degree. I am relatively certain that MiAmiga File is putting itself ahead of Intuition in the input handler chain. I suggest you wait for the production version of V1.2 before you buy MiAmiga File. If the then-shipping version of MiAmiga File works under V1.2, see if you can try it at your dealer's first -- it is a very friendly program but may not be as sophisticated as you need. ..Bob -- UUCP: wanginst!ulowell!page Bob Page, U of Lowell CS Dept VOX: +1 617 452 5000 x2233 Lowell MA 01854 USA