filePro and rapid developement

[GCC]

________________________________

	From: filepro-list-bounces at lists.celestial.com
[mailto:filepro-list-bounces at lists.celestial.com] On Behalf Of Christopher Yerry
	Sent: Tuesday, July 05, 2005 2:02 AM
	To: filepro-list at lists.celestial.com
	Subject: filePro and rapid development
	
	
	(shortened)
	-When they finished their meeting about 1/2 hour later, I showed them
how it
	-worked.  Their response - "You did this while we were out?".
	
	-One said it would take a few days of coding to accomplish this in C.  I
wasn't
	-about to argue with him.
	
	-The other partner watched me expand a field from 15 to 30 characters
and adjust
	-the screen for the new size in under a minute.  His response, "you mean
it that
	-easy".
	
	-It's a shame that it is us, the developer community, that has to
"preach the
	-gospel" of filePro.  Here I am preaching to the congregation.  
	
	-Just thought I would pass this on comments from people not familiar
with
	-filePro.
	
	-Richard Kreiss
	-GCC Consulting 
	
	Richard 
	 
	c (and its c++ cousin) are not meant to make screens appear quickly.
There are tools for that. I do wish to point out that if it were not for C there
would be no filepro. 
	 
	although I would not want to detract from your coup. We have to have fun
sometimes!
	 
	Congratulations
	 
	 
	Christopher Yerry
	president CM Software

Without C or C++ and other low level programming languages there would not be
many applications or tools sets allowing for the writing of code.  Do you really
want to go back to writing code in assembler?  That is pure coding on a machine
basis.  I wrote my first print drivers this way for use with profile on a Tandy
Model II.

Might I assume that programs such as PowerBuilder and other front end
development tools are written in C or C++?

What is being discussed is "Tool Sets".  Using the proper tool to get the job
done. 

You can write web based applications with all the security you can build into it
and there will be someone out there who can hack it.  The problem isn't so much
attacks form the outside but the lack of security on the inside.  More
information is lost through security lapses (and I use that term very loosely). 

I think there are Howie and Mark feel their Web enabling tools for filePro can
make for a secure web application.  As far as the internal security, that is
incumbent on the IT people of the company.  That may be "you" who has to set up
the security levels.  

As for Fortune 500 companies, you can't hold them up as examples of secure
systems.  Just look at how many times their systems have been hacked and
personal data has been stolen.  I haven't read or heard about any companies who
use filePro having their systems hacked or their data stolen :), have you?

I've digressed.  filePro like any programming language is a tool set for getting
a job done.  SQL2000 is the database engine; what are you using to front end it?
How secure will your application be if all you spend on it is 30 minutes?  Can
you really be sure you really locked down an application written that quickly?

As for associated fields, they served a purpose what added to filePro and still
do.  You're correct in that one may not want to use them in all applications.
But, I have found it a very handy tool to use when, for instance, there may be
multiple phone numbers stored in a record.  I can associate the all of these
fields, build an index on it.  Why, have you ever seen a message "John called
410-555-1212.  Now tell me how you would have another language search, say 5
phone # fields in 1,000 records or 100,000 records quickly?  

In fp, I have this value indexed and just entering the number will bring up the
proper record.  Of course that assumes that the number is in the file. 


One one post you mentioned ease of use of an application.  This is more to do
with how a program is written then what language it is written in.  Ease of use
doesn't always mean a GUI interface and mouse.  It is how intuitive it is for
the person using it.  Does its work flow easily match that of the
industry/department/job being done? 

I have seen a major application bring its users to tears as it made their jobs
more difficult.  One major hospital went from paying bills on time to running 30
to 45 days late do to the method used by the system they installed.  The payable
clerks could match invoices and schedule bills faster by hand.  This system is
from one of the major players in hospital Materials Management and financial
systems.

So, we're back to the beginning, the right tools set, an appropriately written
application, with the level of security appropriate for the application.  

Richard Kreiss
GCC Consulting