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From: nttang@cup.portal.com (Stephen NT Tang)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Need easy Ad-hoc reporting DBMS for PC- Any suggestion?
Message-ID: <23802@cup.portal.com>
Date: 8 Nov 89 17:52:11 GMT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 18

I need some recommendations on database programs for IBM-PC-Compatibles.

Currently I'm using FoxBase+ 2.10 to write programs for sales offices' revenue
forecasting system.  I produce customized input screens and output reports.
Everything is menu driven.  To users with PC background, it's fairly easy to
use.

However, the sales managers want a lot more Ad-hoc inquiry capabilities.
It's not very feasible for me to program every type of report they want,
the turnaround time will not be acceptable, and it violates the definition of
"ad-hoc".  Yet they don't have the time (or the willingness) to learn Foxbase
language.

I have used RBASE and the CLOUT inquiry package a few years ago.  It seemed
to be a good tool for ad-hoc inquiry with minimal learning curve involved.
But I have not looked around recently.  Can anyone give me some suggestions
on what's the most easy to learn and easy to use database package for ad-hoc
reporting?   Thank you in advance for your help.