Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!netnews.upenn.edu!vax1!vlsi3b15!lehi3b15!vu-vlsi!dsinc!wells!mdi386!bruce From: bruce@mdi386.UUCP (Bruce A. McIntyre) Newsgroups: comp.databases Subject: Re: dBase IV Bug(s)? Summary: "Merely a clone of dBASE3+ (foxbase)"? Message-ID: <45@mdi386.UUCP> Date: 23 Apr 89 15:46:47 GMT References: <1762@muvms1.bitnet> <54@dbase.UUCP> Organization: Wells Computer Systems Corp., Levittown, Pa. 19058 Lines: 55 In article <54@dbase.UUCP>, awd@dbase.UUCP (Alastair Dallas) writes: > In article , emuleomo@surfers.rutgers.edu (Emuleomo) writes: > > I will advise you in all sincerity to SWITCH to Foxbase+ v2.1. > > It will do ANYTHING you need to do approx. 3 times faster than dBase IV > > and it contains no known bugs.!!!! Futhermore, you may not even need to > > change your code if you have'nt been using the 'new' Ashton Tate commands. > > > > In case you think all this talk about Foxbase+ is just talk, try reading > > the April (or is it March) issue of Database Forum where George Goley Jr > > --Emuleomo O.O. > dBASE IV is a tremendous improvement over the dBASE III PLUS language, and > Foxbase is merely a clone of III+. There are dozens of new commands and > functions, a sophisticated report writer, and so forth. There are reasons > for the 'new' Ashton Tate commands and there are a lot of useful things > that Foxbase+ can't do. (Of course, paper and pencil can be used to > _simulate_ dBASE IV, but, speaking realistically...) The current dBASE4 is the logical extension of what happens when marketing controls the company, and not anyone else is considered. dBASE4 is a good product IF: 1. dbase is intended to be a bad clone of Paradox. 2. you never intend to actually DO anything with it. 3. You don't have to make a living by making any REAL APPLICATIONS with it. 4. You never saw dBASEIII or any of the clones. 5. You will only work on single user applications on PC-DOS 6. You are a salesman for ashton-tate, and are paid by commission for the sales of products, but not penalized for returns. dBASE was invented, and first advertised, NOT as a database for users, but as an Application Development Language for database applications. If you want a database for users, you are still better off with Paradox, or even Q&A. If you want to use a powerfull language to build transportable applications, you can use Foxbase, Clipper, and others. If you are serious about building big applications, you will move to Progress, Informix, etc. But if you work for a big corporation, you will get dBASEIV, and put it on the shelf and continue to use dBASEIII or Clipper or Foxbase. I know these are rambling thoughts, but I get irrational every time I hear that dBASE IV is such a great improved product. Ashton-Tate has abandoned those people, the developers, that made their product so popular, since they "don't need those people any more". Back when they introduced dBASEIII, I had a discussion with George Tate at the New York introduction, and we talked about how dBASE was developed and was running on Vaxen with C under UNIX. But that there would never be enough of a market there to release it as such. George, however, was smart enough I beleive, that in today's market he would have changed his mind. (He also, I believe, would have never called that abortion they shipped for the MAC, a version of dBASE). bruce -- ========================================================================= Bruce A. McIntyre, McIntyre Designs, Inc. VOICE(215)322-1895 143 Bridgetown Pike, Langhorne, Pa. 19047 DATA (215)357-2915 {wells|lgnp1|prapc2}!mdi386!bruce bruce@wells tbit+ Unix, Xenix, Netware and PC-DOS Applications development. Specializing in Database Applications since 1980.