mr@cica.cica.indiana.edu (Michael Regoli) (06/30/89)
cy@dbase.UUCP (Cy Shuster) writes: >Use "dbase/t" to skip the opening graphics when running on medium-speed >machines (i.e. 12MHz). (Also, "fw/t" with Framework). thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank -- michael regoli mr@cica.indiana.edu regoli@iubacs.bitnet ...rutgers!iuvax!cica!mr
keithb@hpindda.HP.COM (Keith Broussard) (07/05/89)
It would be nice if all of those people who use comp.databases do so constructively. I am tired of hearing all this griping about dBase IV. I agree that producing dBase IV was a mammoth undertaking, and I, personally, can be a little bit forgiving with a version 1.0 of the software, even though, like many, I can't wait for version 1.1! Anyway, if you don't use dBase IV because you don't like the opening graphics, or you think it's slower than dBase III+, or you have something against a powerful and easy to use user interface (menus and popups), or whatever, then leave messages in notefiles that pretain to what you use. Leave us (however sorry you feel for us) dBase IV users alone and find someone else to gripe to. If you are a dBase IV user or have had an intelligent experience with the product, then use comp.databases as a feedback mechanism to Ashton-Tate (you see, they ARE listening), and as a channel to give useful suggestions/warnings/tips/hints to other users. I think all of the griping is fun, folks, but if you want Ashton Tate to "get real", then you get real. Time's a'wastin'...we've all got things to work on. Regards, Keith "No disclaimer here; I mean what I say" Broussard
mraustad@infocenter.UUCP (Mike Raustad) (07/11/89)
In article <3520001@hpindda.HP.COM>, keithb@hpindda.HP.COM (Keith Broussard) writes: > It would be nice if all of those people who use comp.databases do so > constructively. I am tired of hearing all this griping about dBase > IV. I agree that producing dBase IV was a mammoth undertaking, and I, > personally, can be a little bit forgiving with a version 1.0 of the > software, even though, like many, I can't wait for version 1.1! > I agree 110 percent with you, however, I am tuned in here so that I can read about what frustrates dBase users in general. I work with dBase III and am *very* satisfied with it. I was thinking about upgrading to III+ or IV. I am hesitant to do so now because of what I have read here, coupled with the fact that I am satisfied with what I have now. I have not had anything negative to say about dBase, but am interested in what *users* have to say, good or bad. I also feel that if I went out and spent all the money AT wants for their packages and got home as was not happy with it, I would be *MAD*. You can bet *I* would vent my frustrations right here where AT is listening. I understand both sides of the fence here. > Anyway, if you don't use dBase IV because you don't like the opening > graphics, or you think it's slower than dBase III+, or you have > something against a powerful and easy to use user interface (menus and > popups), or whatever, then leave messages in notefiles that pretain to > what you use. Leave us (however sorry you feel for us) dBase IV users > alone and find someone else to gripe to. Where are these notefiles? Can I access these? Where else can I obtain information about the pros and cons of dBase? I do not think he was griping to you, rather AT. In the first paragraph you said you would like to see release 1.1, but you did not want to wait. You all but said you agreed with him, but you were more professional about the way you said it. Either way, the audience is here for comments and suggestions, both of which AT wants to hear. I dont think we need to talk negatively about AT, its tough to beat your competition to the gates these days, ( note my company name in my .sig file ), but if you sell a package with bugs in it, you should be able to handle the gripes or complaints that will naturally follow. On the other side of the coin, you should have posted a followup article siding with AT or telling the rest of us that *you* were happy with the product. > > If you are a dBase IV user or have had an intelligent experience with > the product, then use comp.databases as a feedback mechanism to > Ashton-Tate (you see, they ARE listening), and as a channel to give > useful suggestions/warnings/tips/hints to other users. Yes, please continue to share your experiences with us. I have obtained some good ideas and suggestions here. ____________________________________________________________________________ | MIKE RAUSTAD - ENCORE COMPUTER SYSTEMS - FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA 33313 | | /\/\ | |/ |_ |_) /\ | | (_` | /\ | \ | PHONE: (305)-797-5621 | |/ \| |\ |_ | \/--\|__| \_) |/--\|_/ | EMAIL: uunet!gould!mraustad | |____________________________________________________________________________|
mithomas@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Michael Thomas Niehaus) (07/12/89)
In article <3167@infocenter.UUCP>, mraustad@infocenter.UUCP (Mike Raustad) writes: > > > If you are a dBase IV user or have had an intelligent experience with > > the product, then use comp.databases as a feedback mechanism to > > Ashton-Tate (you see, they ARE listening), and as a channel to give > > useful suggestions/warnings/tips/hints to other users. > > Yes, please continue to share your experiences with us. I have obtained > some good ideas and suggestions here. I have a question that maybe some dBase IV person can answer. Let's say that I have the following chunk of dBase code: T="this is a test" IF T="this is not a test" THEN @10,10 say "Inside the if" ENIF && Notice the misspelling @11,10 SAY "Outside the if" RETURN Now, with dBase III+, this will assign "this is a test" to T, check the condition, find that it doesn't hold true, and look for a corresponding ENDIF. Now, if it doesn't find one, it just quits. No error messages or anything. This same problem arises when you have not nested blocks (anything with an END) correctly. Can anyone tell me what dBase IV does with this? If it returns an error message, I would switch instantly. The number of headaches would be instantly reduced. There is only one good thing that dBase III+ forces you to do: indent properly. If you don't do that, you're going to be spending a lot of time trying to line up ENDs. -Michael -- Michael Niehaus UUCP: <backbones>!{iuvax,pur-ee}!bsu-cs!mithomas Apple Student Rep ARPA: mithomas@bsu-cs.bsu.edu Ball State University AppleLink: ST0374 (from UUCP: st0374@applelink.apple.com)
cy@dbase.UUCP (Cy Shuster) (07/13/89)
For information such as anomaly lists, workarounds, and so on you may be interested in our CompuServe forum (GO ASHFORUM) and our own inhouse bulletin board, accessible by anyone (registration card not required) at (213) 538-6196. --Cy--
pelakh@babcock.cerc.wvu.wvnet.edu (Boris Pelakh) (07/13/89)
From article <8178@bsu-cs.bsu.edu>, by mithomas@bsu-cs.bsu.edu (Michael Thomas Niehaus): > I have a question that maybe some dBase IV person can answer. Let's say that > I have the following chunk of dBase code: > > T="this is a test" > IF T="this is not a test" THEN > @10,10 say "Inside the if" > ENIF && Notice the misspelling > @11,10 SAY "Outside the if" > RETURN > > Can anyone tell me what dBase IV does with this? If it returns an error > message, I would switch instantly. The number of headaches would be instantly > reduced. There is only one good thing that dBase III+ forces you to do: > indent properly. If you don't do that, you're going to be spending a lot > of time trying to line up ENDs. As far as I am aware (after writing about 5000 lines of dBASE iV code), an error like this will be detected by the dBASE IV "compiler" (what ever you want to call it) before the program is run. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boris Pelakh | "I swear by my life and my love of it pelakh@cerc.wvu.wvnet.edu | that I will never live for the sake of un027707@wvnvaxa.wvnvms.wvnet.edu | another man, nor ask another to live for --------------------------------- | mine ..." "Violence is the last resort of | John Galt, "Atlas Shrugged" the incompetent" S. Hardin | "Foundation" | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
keithb@hpindda.HP.COM (Keith Broussard) (07/15/89)
Yes, it's true. Improperly nested or unended loops won't make it past the dBase IV complier. Thus, there is no need to worry about run-time loop errors. One other thing about dBase IV, the editor has been significantly enhanced and that really helps me. It has auto-indent which will help us careless indenters, and it has block functions that allow you to move, delete, copy, and left/right tab blocks of code. This is a major time saver to me. (The editor also has search/search & replace functions, and block read and write to disk capabilities). Makes typing modi comm a pleasure now. Good luck to you.