Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!ucsd!nosc!humu!pegasus!tleylan From: tleylan@pegasus.com (Tom Leylan) Newsgroups: comp.databases Subject: Re: CLIPPER eclipses dBASE bugs: too many to mention! Message-ID: <1991Apr26.055259.13656@pegasus.com> Date: 26 Apr 91 05:52:59 GMT References: <16244.2816c071@levels.sait.edu.au> Organization: Pegasus, Honolulu Lines: 48 In article <16244.2816c071@levels.sait.edu.au> marwk@levels.sait.edu.au writes: >I have seen a listing of bugs taking up about 1/2" thick of paper. > >This is too many to post to the net, so I'll compile a new list once >5.01 fix disks reach me, and we can all eagerly find out which ones are >really fixed and which new ones they have introduced. > >I like CLIPPER, but hell, didn't they actually try it out before boxing it? > >What happenned to their beta testers? Quality control? > Ray, I think you're exaggerating just a bit but in any case your timing isn't too good. The update disk to 5.01 has been shipping for a few days and reports are that people are receiving them. Most of the reported problems were due to the VMM system which by all accounts did not receive enough testing. It isn't an excuse but a buggy VMM system which accounts for 90% of the problems isn't the same as bug riddled software (at least in my book). VMM underlies Clipper 5.0 so if 2 or 3 or 50 (I'll let you decide) bugs in there would show up all over the place. I have seen VMM errors but very few, some people hit them all the time and usually this has been due to their not writing code in 5.0 but merely recompiling S'87 code. Again, no excuse but that has all been fixed in the update. The update is free of course. From a computer language fundamentals standpoint I think Clipper 5.0 is a mile ahead of the rest of the dLanguage pack. Lexical scoping, the pre-processor, code blocks and the pseudo-objects offer more control than anything in it's class. If Clipper can't do it, drop down to C or assembler and link it in. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with 5.01. BTW, you aren't the only person disappointed with the initial release, lots of us make our living programming in Clipper and it sets everybody back but I could see that the basics were there and trusted that in time the fix would arrive. As for your Holden example... what if they built a space shuttle and it exploded on take off ? Car manufacturing isn't compiler writing and you don't think that Nantucket is the same size as General Motors do you ? It will all get better soon... tom (formerly of Nantucket Corp. (a full disclosure tag line))