alexis@ccnysci.UUCP (Alexis Rosen) (05/04/89)
In article <gYK=wvy00WB7AiCG93@andrew.cmu.edu> dp22+@andrew.cmu.edu (David Bruce Pinkus) writes: > Has anybody had any success using the Multi-User version of FoxBase >with TOPS? I haven't seen the Multi-user version, but if it can be done, >I'd appreciate some advice/info. TOPS does not support AFP, and will therefore not support Fox. In fact, as far as I can determine from lengthy discussions with TOPS tech types, TOPS does not support any kind of byte-range or record locking whatsoever. (This is why 4D tends to crash more frequently under TOPS than AppleShare or single-user: It knows it's not getting AFP so it does some bogus page-locking instead.) Fox chose not to do it at all rather than do it wrong. As far as I know TOPS is the ONLY file server product for the Mac for which this is true (of course MacServe and SilverServer, which are both volume servers, don't support it either). TOPS claims that they will support the byte-range locking features of AFP by the end of the year. This would make them compatible with FoxBase. It is my carefully considered opinion that TOPS is in the same position now that MacServe was in three years ago: They currently dominate the market, and they're throwing it all away through marketing stupidity and bad technological decisions. I expect to see TOPS dwindle to a small minority of the market within 24 months. Followups to comp.protocols.appletalk. --- Alexis Rosen alexis@ccnysci.{uucp,bitnet} alexis@rascal.ics.utexas.edu (last resort)