Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!asuvax!ncar!gatech!prism!jgb From: jgb@prism.gatech.EDU (James G. Baker) Newsgroups: comp.databases Subject: Re: To Clip(per) or not to Clip(per). Message-ID: <23102@hydra.gatech.EDU> Date: 1 Mar 91 01:45:58 GMT References: Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology Lines: 60 In article userWINO@mts.ucs.UAlberta.CA (Myron Wintonyk) writes: >Our department, without consulting me, decided to produce >a database using clipper on a PC system using Novell Netware. >The reporting facilities are bad ... real bad. > >They were intending to use a package called Relational Report >Writer to produce reports. Unfortunately, it can open a maximum >10 files/databases at one time. For the reports that they require. >This is not sufficient. I would hope this a CONFIG.SYS issue, but ten Ten open database files is really a lot. Perhaps the files are not structured in the right way. (Relations, keys, etc). Clipper is a 100% programming environment. It has really broken away from the dBase3 screen-formats and reports which I always thought were extremely limited; but I am a programmer at heart. (I've been using it since Autumn '86.) I have heard good things about R&R but there is always a trade-off between flexibility and ease-of-use. (Unix and C are good examples of this :-) Being a programmer, I have made all of my reports "from scratch" - I want to be in control. If your reports are too free form - and the database doesn't change often - you could export it to other packages like Q&A that offer more English-like/SQL-ish reports. Being a programming language, there are lots of libraries out there for Clipper (some PD, all unbelievably cheap, less that $200), that can do a lot. (Networking, Reports, Queries, etc). Look in "Databased Advisor" for examples as well as software places like "Programmer's Workshop". But, if you want to avoid code-writing at all costs, Clipper really isn't the right thing versus the {Mac-like, GUI, etc} query packages. >As a result, I am left with a dilemma. Should I try to develop >this system further, and if so, how should I produce reports. I >have only a basic knowledge of Clipper and dBase, and have no >idea how to produce useful reports. Or, should I start over again >on a mainframe system? There is more out there for Clipper and PCs than any mainframe. A 486 will give a Vaxen a run for its money and the users love the PC interfaces that should be easy to make up. >My main concerns are : Sorting in a non-indexed order, >Queries, and Scopes (only use a certain subset of the data). Again, there is practically *nothing* Clipper can not do. But it is a programming language that with v5.0 is moderately close to C in power and flexibility. Good luck... -- BAKER,JAMES G - Undergraduate Lab Instructor, School of Electrical Engineering ____ _ _ Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 | | _ |_) uucp: ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!jgb (_|. |_). |_). Internet: jgb@prism.gatech.edu