falsken@leadsv.UUCP (04/22/87)
I need to get a hold of the company that makes a database called Filepro. It runs on various machines. Also, If you have used such please tell me your opinion. Thanks -- "For ones who think! Gary Falsken
wmf@chinet.UUCP (04/23/87)
In article <1468@leadsv.UUCP> falsken@leadsv.UUCP (Gary Falsken) writes: >I need to get a hold of the company that makes a database called >Filepro. filePro or Profile (to you tandy folks) is a "pretty good" database manager that has been ported to a lot of Xenix / Unix systems. The two versions I have worked with were known as "filePro" on a Microsoft XENIX running on a PC-AT and good ol' Profile on the Tandy Model 6000 Xenix box. It is a relational database, allowing multiple, indexed files to be open and has a host of other features, like user menus and interfaces to word proceesors and spreadsheets. As far as "user friendlyness" (sp?) goes, I guess it depends on which side of the street you are coming from... compared to some of the PC-DOS data base systems that all but design themselves, it's a tough chore to properly configurea Profile (filePro) application that isn't too twitchy for a less experienced user to comfortably use. On the other hand, moving down from the byzantine world of main frame data base systems, Profile is a positive dream. The docs are good, if not ponderous, the support (at least from Radio Shack / Tandy) was sympathetic and usually helpful. The company name is, I believe, Small Systems Computer ... my only set of docs is from Radio Shack, who supports the software independently, so that's all I have on them. If you can afford to spend the time with the software, tho, you can be rewarded with some really slick custom applications. Adios, -- +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Bill Fischer Fortiter in re, suaviter in modo | | ...ihnp4!chinet!wmf | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
tony@killer.UUCP (Tony Holden) (04/27/87)
in article <1468@leadsv.UUCP>, falsken@leadsv.UUCP (Gary Falsken) says: > > I need to get a hold of the company that makes a database called > Filepro. It runs on various machines. Also, If you have used such > please tell me your opinion. > I use it, but would like to have the time to learn something a little more powerful. But anyway, here goes. Everything is menu driven which is nice when you are just starting up but gets to be a pain in the a** later in life. Screens and reports are easy to setup. But of course you'll live in the programing section call Define Processing. There are + and - here. The programing language is a lot like BASIC. Makes it easy to learn but gets in the way later. You are locked in standard format of entering programs: label :if conditions : program statements The "if" line and "program" line are limited to 71 characters. You have temp. variables, but they can only be 1 or 2 characters long. Try remembering what "ny" was when you're knee deep into a posting program. By the way, all files have field numbers instead of names. I should have metioned that to start with, so I'm a little slow :-). You only have 1000 lines of program space, make it short if you can bubba. If your program is over 300 lines the load time gets to be a bit long. They have a program that will fix this, at a extra charge. I won't even tell you how and why this is even necessary, that belongs in net.joke. In short, you can come up to speed pretty fast, create applications pretty fast,and out grow it pretty fast. Why am I still using it? Thanks to Tandy I learnedit while on the support lones and was able to work into a living outside the 'Shack. Fear not for me, I still plan to make my fortune with this stuff. Tony Holden millionare in the making, you can tell by my spelling. ihnp!killer~tony
allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) (05/09/87)
As quoted from <803@killer.UUCP> by tony@killer.UUCP (Tony Holden): +--------------- | in article <1468@leadsv.UUCP>, falsken@leadsv.UUCP (Gary Falsken) says: | > I need to get a hold of the company that makes a database called | > Filepro. It runs on various machines. Also, If you have used such | > please tell me your opinion. | > | | You have temp. variables, but they can only be 1 or 2 characters long. Try | remembering what "ny" was when you're knee deep into a posting program. By | the way, all files have field numbers instead of names. I should have metioned | that to start with, so I'm a little slow :-). +--------------- There's worse. Since fields are identified by numbers, ALL literals must be quoted, including numbers. This leads to some coding errors that are VERY common and made me glad we couldn't run FilePro on the computer that replaced our Tandy 6000. Specifically: . If: . Then: VJ = VJ + 1 . This kind of bug blew up a price sheet generator I had written: intuitively it seems that you are incrementing VJ, but really you're adding to VJ the value of the first field in the table. Ecch! ++Brando -- Copyright (C) 1987 Brandon S. Allbery -- you can redistribute only if your recipients can. Brandon S. Allbery {decvax,cbatt,cbosgd}!cwruecmp!ncoast!allbery Tridelta Industries {ames,mit-eddie,talcott}!necntc!ncoast!allbery 7350 Corporate Blvd. necntc!ncoast!allbery@harvard.HARVARD.EDU Mentor, OH 44060 +01 216 255 1080