Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!isi.edu!gremlin!nrtc!maurit
From: maurit@nrtc.nrtc.northrop.com (Mark Aurit <maurit>)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: PC Magazine skipped Clipper...
Message-ID: <24316@gremlin.nrtc.northrop.com>
Date: 15 May 91 18:48:21 GMT
References: <282b61ab.e65@petunia.CalPoly.EDU> <1991May14.203455.7766@pegasus.com>
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Reply-To: maurit@nrtc.nrtc.northrop.com (Mark Aurit)
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Organization: Northrop Research & Technology Center, Palos Verdes, CA
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In article <1991May14.203455.7766@pegasus.com> tleylan@pegasus.com (Tom Leylan) writes:
>The benefits of Clipper 5.0 include "computer language" improvements which
>I don't see coming from A-T and Fox.

I think this is the jist of the argument - one man's "language improvement"
is another man's worst nightmare. In the latest Data Based Advisor the
editor quotes Larry Humdinger, the illustrious leader or Nantucket, as
saying something to the effect that Clipper has "gone beyond (dBASE)". I
agree with his sentiments exactly, thought I believe he and I would differ
as to direction.

You have to ask yourself "what constitues a language improvement"? As I
(and the people who work for me) write and maintain more and more applications
we are less and less inclined to define it as being "technically excellent",
which seems to be Clippers only claim to fame these days. It surely isnt
in productivity, after writing in FoxPro, CLipper is no fun. Earlier
postings would indicate its not in bug-free code, so we'd better rule out
reliability. How about future directions? Ive been seriously worried 
since I saw Brian Russell's very poor, very techie demo of the PM NFT
at the L.A. developers conference a couple of years ago.  Has anyone even
heard them pay lip service to Windows or servers? If I want object-orientation
I'll go to a real OO language. I guess where 5.x is concerned, I'll just
say no. In the meantime we'll take Fox up on their $195 upgrade to 2.0
and wait for Lesko et. al. to write for that environment. 

Mark Aurit