From: lka@cs.bham.ac.uk (Leonard Aye)
Subject: Re:WANTED: Info on Mac relational databases ** (SUMMARY) **
Reply-To: L.Aye@cs.bham.ac.uk
Organization: School of Computer Science, Birmingham University, U.K.
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 13:56:31 GMT

The following is a list of replies I got to my original post. Email
addresses of the replyees (a new word??) are also included, in case
you want to write to them.

Hope this is useful to some of you.

Thanks to all those who replied to my question.

Len Aye
email:lka@cs.bham.ac.uk


------------------------------------------------------------

Leonard,

I have a dBase IV database that was created on a PC and now I
am trying to run it in FoxBASE on the Mac.  Apple File Exchange
converted the .dbf, .prg and .ndx files just fine but when I
tried to run it under FoxBASE I am running into problems.

I think everything I need is there but there are probably some
extra commands that need to be added into the FoxBASE .prg 
files to make it work. 


Liem Vu
Systems Analyst
Leading Computer Technologies, Inc.
l_vu@oaetqm.hq.nasa.gov
202.453.3511

-------------------------------------------------------------

personally, i like Foxbase.  i have programmed in dbase, and that is part
of what attracted me to it.  

your dbf files are directly transferrable, and many of your prg files
should also be ok.  report forms, screens, etc. don't translate as 
well....

hope this helps
gerardo okhuysen
gokhuyse@leland.Stanford.EDU
-------------------------------------------------------------

(To which I asked the question..)


> How are the files translated, Apple File Exchange, AccessPC or MacLink? In 
> other words, do you need special translators or just binary translation from
> PC to Mac?
> 
	Using apple file exchange is enough.  you will have to regenerate
	any indexes you are using, though.  Frankly, it is really painless
	at least as far as the databases are concerned.

> >should also be ok.  report forms, screens, etc. don't translate as 
> >well....
> Well, that's expected I suppose.
> 
> 
	Actually, FoxBase (or now Microsoft, who bought them out after
	they figured out there was no way in hell they could ever get
	a good database porduct developed) says that when foxpro for
	the mac comes out (4th quarter release expected), all of
	the screens, reports, etc. should be directly transferrable.
		
	If you are serious about developing these databases on the Mac
	(there are many skeptics out there), these products deserve
	at least the once over.


	Hope all of this is helpful.
	cheers
	gerardo okhuysen

----------------------------------------------------------------


Reading a .dbf file into ANY Macintosh database or calculation application
is no problem. I can t figure out an application program that does not
understand .dbf

Although I am no user of 4D I realize that 4D is the most widely known and
used implementation of a relational database on a Mac. This is for it s
power and Mac-friendliness.

The question is whether you would like to work in a mixed environment. In
this case you have to be cautious. I for one do not know of any DOS
connection with 4D. 

By the way I recall that there is another product called OMNIS you might
want to know more about.

--

-Rudolf

-----------------------------------------------------------
Rudolf R. Sinkovics
Department of Marketing
University of Economics and Business Administration, Vienna
Augasse 2-6, A-1090 Vienna (Austria)
Tel.:   +43-222-31336-4403
Fax.:   +43-222-31336-732
e-mail: sinkovics@wu-wien.ac.at (Internet)
-----------------------------------------------------------


You should have a look at Blyth's Omnis before you make a decision.
It provides a neat front end for Mac and Windows environments and can
be linked with a SQL server if you need a 'really' relational system.


Chris Devonport			  Internet: chris@ironwood.ntu.edu.au
GIS Laboratory			                   Voice: 089 466 711
Northern Territory University, Australia             Fax: 089 410 460
---------------------------------------------------------------


>What I want to do is to develop a simple application for managing
>records and do the normal things like, SELECT, PROJECT and JOIN
>operations. But it has to be relational because of the multiple
>tables and relations.

Fox can do these operations, sometimes with a bit of code, because it
has a JOIN command and can define relations on the fly to do things like
INTERSECT etc. (I have some sample code somewhere - it's a few lines).

4D can't because it can only do programmed lookups (ie: search for this key
) or use pre-drawn relations - it can't do relations on the fly.

>Looking through the MacWarehouse (UK) catalog 4D Pro costs 899 pounds
>compared with 295 pounds for FoxBase. I mean, is 4D so good that it
>has to charge so much? 
YES - if you need to develop complex user-interfaces 4D is several ties
faster than Fox and can do some things that are difficult if not impossible
in Fox.

If you need to do sophisticated data manipulation then Fox may be more useful
although 4D has some nice array and set manipulation. Fox is far better at
crunching lots of data in files and, as it uses the dBase model, you can use
temporary files with abandon - 4D contains all data in a single file and has
major problems with space re-use and indexing overhead.

If you DO get into FoxBase, be aware that the FoxPro version for the Mac is not
likely to be out until third quarter 93 - at this point it will have compatible
code across DOS, Mac, Windows and probably Unix. Looking at FoxPro v2 for DOS
(now) will give you an idea of the sort of language enhancements - including
built-in SQL.

If you (or anyone else) is using FoxBase+/mac right now I have a comprehensive
list of hints I'm happy to mail, as well as a couple of shareware externals
I've written that significantly improve the user interface for scrolling lists
and allow a double-clickable BROWSE.
  >I've developed applications with dBaseIV on the PC and what I want to
>know is can I convert the .dbf files into Mac and be read by
>FoxBase/Mac?
FoxBase+/Mac is VERY compatible with dBase III+ (catalogue and a couple of othe
r
commands don't work) to the extent of handling DOS-style volume and directory
paths!

Andy Dent (A.D. Software - Mac & VAX programming)
94 Bermuda Dve, BALLAJURA  Western Australia  6066
Phone/Fax: 09 249 2719 (local)  +619 249 2719 (International)
       Internet: dent@DIALix.oz.au    Compuserve: 100033,3241


	    



-- 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leonard Kyaw Soe Aung Aye
School of Computer Science, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston,
Birmingham, West Midlands B15 2TT, England, UK. Tel: +44 21-414-3705
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.databases