Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!munnari.oz.au!uniwa!vaxa.cc.uwa.oz.au!a_dent
From: a_dent@vaxa.cc.uwa.oz.au
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Foxbase and above - where to?
Message-ID: <1990Aug4.120836.2030@vaxa.cc.uwa.oz.au>
Date: 4 Aug 90 04:08:36 GMT
References: <1990Aug1.183716.5859@mccc.uucp>
Organization: University of Western Australia
Lines: 44

In article <1990Aug1.183716.5859@mccc.uucp>, shevett@mccc.uucp (dave shevett) writes:
> A modest but important question to the world in general:
> 
> My company has written several *LARGE* (50k+ lines each) applications in
> FoxBase for PC's.  We're currently working on converting them (what little
> has to be done) to run under FoxPro v1.02.  We're very happy with the
> system, and FoxPro is a wonder, BUT...  we need...  more.
> 
> We'd like to start looking at a client-server type of setup where our
> customers (about 150 onsite installations) link to our
> mini/micro/thingamajig here in the office, and we do the grunt database
> work here, and they get the happy reports/pretty screens, etc.

Just a suggestion, why abandon FoxPro??  If you can get some sort of network 
connection between your customers and your server, so they see files on the 
server, then you can just rewrite your code slightly so the files live on the 
server and all that happens on the client machine is the interface.  I don't 
know enough about PC networks to say if you can have such a (dial-up?) network 
but the advantage of a network approach is minimal bandwidth as the only thing 
going over the network would be records, not full screen information.  

For people who just want dumb terminals, you could setup local PC's on the net 
and have the customer dial in to these PC's.  This would give a good growth 
pattern for adding hardware increments and you could plan to get a little 
fancier with your software and have multiple copies of the databases, running 
on several server PC's.

Note that this approach also gives clients a chance to use Macintosh 
workstations as you could easily port the front-end to FoxBASE+/Mac, and I 
*KNOW* that Mac networks can be linked remotely.

I'd think you could put together a pilot project for this with only a small 
amount of development, another attraction for selling the idea to management.

> 
> /-------------------+                        +----------------------\
> |   Dave Shevett    | "The shortest distance |   Labyrinth II BBS   |
> |  W. Trenton, NJ   | between two puns is a  |    (609) 584-8773    |
> | shevett@mccc.UUCP | straight line..."      |  12/24/19200 - 24hrs |
> \-------------------+        - Doc Webster   +----------------------/

Andy Dent                     A.D. Software phone 09 249 2719
Mac & VAX programmer          94 Bermuda Dve, Ballajura
a_dent@vaxa.uwa.oz            Western Australia  6066