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From: jim@randvax.UUCP (Jim Gillogly)
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: dbase iii compilers
Message-ID: <394@randvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 4-Jul-86 18:25:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: randvax.394
Posted: Fri Jul  4 18:25:30 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 6-Jul-86 01:25:01 EDT
Organization: Banzai Institute
Lines: 36
Summary: Nantucket Clipper is good if you must have dBASE; else use Paradox

In article <3091@ncsu.UUCP> atb@ncsu.UUCP (andy brown) writes:
>has anyone out there had any experience with with dbase iii
>or dbase iii+ compilers? i've heard that a company called Nantucket
>out of CA has one.  how "bug free" are these programs?  
>how much do they cost? 

Nantucket makes a dBASE III compiler; the latest version appears to be
compatible with dBASE III+.  I've had no trouble using it.  Compiling
is pretty fast, although linking takes a long time; they have a hacked
version of Plink86 and a huge library.  It appears to handle all of dBASE III
(at least all that I've used) and I haven't found any bugs in it.  By
contrast, I've been bitten by several serious show-stopping bugs in dBASE.
You can distribute the executable modules (which are large, by the way:
over 100K for a null program).

The executable module runs considerably faster than dBASE for user
programs; it's about the same speed for things that are single-command
dBASE commands such as reports and counting.

>maybe there is a better solution. the problem:
>i have several dbase programs that i wish to distribute to several small
>companies; however, they can't affford to shell out several hundred dollars for
>a full dbase development system or the runtime program dbrun.
>also, i am not going to give them copys of dbase.

Yes, there is a better solution: Paradox.  It also has a programming language
attached to it, and with version 1.1 (recently out) they offer a runtime
module that you can include at a nominal extra cost with your applications.
It also has the capability of preparsing routines into a canned library
(not quite compiling) which offers you a little privacy for your programs
if you want it.  By all means check this out if your source code investment
isn't too great.
-- 
	Jim Gillogly
	{decvax, sdcrdcf}!randvax!jim
	jim@rand-unix.arpa