FileMaker update sorts out storage

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Ode to the Unknown Database

Interestingly enough, the G/F just bought an old boxed copy of Filemaker Pro 5.x for Mac at the local monthly computer flea market last weekend. She paid 5 whole dollars for it. Don't know if she'll actually use it for anything (especially if it won't run under Mac OSX), but I can recall creating a simple database app in Filemaker to track archived ads for a publishing company several years ago. Worked just swell for what it presented itself to be--an easy-to-use program to allow the Slightly Above Average Computer User to create their own data repositories.

My personal favorite "small" database IDE: Paradox for Windows. The job tracking/invoicing system my company is using to this day I wrote several years back in Paradox 4.5 (which was created for Windows 3.1, that's how old it is...my app didn't even support Windows long file names when I first created it). Borland unleashed a wonderful little product on the world with Paradox. They sold it eventually to Corel and I now have Corel's version, which happily they don't seem to have messed up too badly. I remember when I was first trying to learn Paradox's ObjectPAL language and screwing around writing a Pong-type game with it, just to amuse myself. Which only goes to show that some of these "small" database IDE programs have some fairly unique, advanced features. I went on to help a buddy who is an agent for a major insurance company use Paradox and PCAccess to hook into the company's mainframe database (IBM, so I'm assuming it was probably DB2 although I never found out for sure...it ultimately didn't make any difference), pass records on to Paradox, which would then use Windows OLE (this was running under either Win 3.1 or 95, I can't recall which now) to pass a report on to WinFax Pro and semi-automagically fax it. Despite all the money that the agents for this company had to spend on AS/400's and associated peripherals, they still didn't have the ability through RPG to send a simple fax from the main system. Paradox, the "little" database, could handle the job easily. And do a whole lot of other nifty things, like create tables with BLOB (Binary Large Object) fields so that you could store photos, sound files, whatever...in your database. An acquaintance of mine wrote an internal art collection cataloguing system for the Dallas Museum of Art using Paradox for DOS back in the early 90's, and from how he described the project, it must have been a fairly unique application for its time. Especially for a $150 database-builder which would run on a 386. Still must have been a real chore, because Paradox for DOS was a much more difficult beast to tame than the Windows version. At least from what I've heard. By the way, just doing a casual Google survey, apparently there's plenty of folks out there still running Paradox for DOS apps under Windows 2000! Whatever works, I guess.

Despite the Sybases and Oracles of this world, there will apparently always be a market to small businesses like mine for "light duty," yet very feature-rich database IDE's.

I've taken some half-hearted stabs at Access, but I guess I'm just indoctrinated into the way Borland does things (I've also got the ancient, venerable Delphi 4 and the G/F just bought me a copy of Borland's C++ 5 from the local Salvation Army store, of all places...it's beginning to resemble a History of Borland exhibit in my office now).

As an advertising type, I'd normally be the last person on earth you'd figure would have the least interest in database stuff--but they're fun. And what could be more useful than having your homemade database app running in the background and popping up at the appropriate time with the warning "Buy her a birthday present RIGHT NOW, idiot--or you won't be getting any tonight."

Oh, and for you Linux folks--Borland's released a freeware version of their Kylix IDE. That's gonna be my next toy to learn. If it's good I'll pony up for one of the Not Free versions. More fun!

Posted by: Yen_z   Posted on: 03/09/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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