Antiquated Software

[Anthony Terrible]

I wasn't going to enter this flame although I have thought that Filepro is 
antiquated for some time now. So I am going to address some of the things 
that have been said and state my opinions. But before I begin let me state 
that  I have the utmost respect for all of you on this list and believe that 
all of you are better programmers than I.



1)      Data entry in text mode (mouse less) is faster than a GUI or using a 
mouse.



While I believe this to be true you can design Windows data entry forms very 
easily that can be used without a mouse just like a text based screen. The 
tab key works very well and the tab stop can be set any way you want.



2)       Quoting Laura Brody, " I would bet cold-hard cash in a non-trivial 
amount
that a top-level data-entry gal who has been at it since Eisenhower was 
president would have a drop of productivity of around 50% or more if she had 
to navigate through the exact same screen with a mouse on some GUI 
 database."



While this is true, wake up Laura. The people entering data now are in their 
20's and grew up with Windows and can navigate it quite easily, as well as 
that person using a text based system. Read  #1 above.



3)      Quoting Bill Campbell, "I've never supported Windows, and seriously 
think that anybody who entrusts corporate assets and data to a Windows 
systems is guilty of malfeasance, and I refuse to be an accomplice to that. 
Even if Windows were secure, and no data were ever lost to software crashes 
or random reboots, the employee time lost due to these crashes and reboots, 
when reliable alternatives are available, isn't something that should be 
tolerated by anybody who is responsible for an organization's bottom line."



I have been around Filepro for 20 years and the crashes from it, broken 
freechain, index corruption etc. is to me, no worse then Windows. However I 
do not promote a Windows based server. People today use PC's which I would 
venture to say are 99% Windows based. These machines have become very 
powerful over the years and people have become accustomed to using programs 
like Excel and Word. Use the power of the PC. Write you program to run on a 
Windows desktop but the database it's self can reside on Unix or Linux and 
be safe and secure while using that powerful PC. I believe anyone in this 
day and age who sells a client Filepro is guilty of malfeasance.



4)      Quoting Ken Brody, "Umm...  Printing of memos has been in since 
5.0.14.  Did you miss that?"



As John said, yes I guess we did. The memo field has never worked properly 
and I, and I assume that others have just given up on it. Compared to other 
databases the memo field is a bad joke, always has been. I embraced it when 
it came out but years later after working with it, well lets just say it's 
problems are too many to list.



5)      For years I have listened to the list ask when is there going to be 
an ODBC driver for Filepro. The reason Filepro has never made an ODBC driver 
for Filepro is that they are very much aware that by doing this would be 
their death. If you could access the data stored in a Filepro file from any 
programming language why would you use Filepro? It would just be a matter of 
time before you totally get rid of Filepro. The only thing holding most 
people to Filepro is all the data they have in it's files that they can't 
get out without Filepro. Given the out, most would take the option. Filepro's 
file system is slow and clunky compared to modern data bases.



 The world is changing. We need more data in many different formats then we 
ever did. People expect it, they demand it. We need pictures, email, 
internet access, the ability to open, view, modify  and run reports on 
several different files at the same time. This is just not possible with 
Filepro. It is however easily done with current day data bases running on PC's 
with Windows. What you have now with Filepro is a small ugly screen, long 
learning curve for new employees, no real ability to view or save photo's, 
little to no ability to create text documents, lots of clumsy menus, the 
lack of ability to be in several files at the same time, inability to access 
the internet, reports that look like they came off a 1950's typewriter, the 
inability for management to create their own reports, inability to sort or 
group data without running a report, slow and clunky searches unless you use 
an index selection, no integration with current technology. And programming? 
There is more to life then IF-THEN. Using Filepro or thinking that it has 
anything to offer is like the person who refuses to give up on that 1960's 
automobile. Automobiles have come a long way in 20 years, they are computer 
controlled in every aspect. They are faster then the cars of the 60's and 70's, 
get better gas mileage, don't pollute, safer, handle and drive better, last 
longer. So why would you want automobiles to go back to the way they were? 
Filepro was good when it was made but it's time is done, has been. Now is 
the time to figure out how to migrate from Filepro. Total integration is the 
way. With Windows this can be done. Your clients never have to learn 
anything else but your program  No more switching to a picture viewer, an 
email program, a writing program, a web browser. All of this is done 
seamlessly and easily. Menus, right clicks, real help files make it easy to 
use and learn, tabs make it easy to enter data. Use the power of the PC. It 
will make your company better, your people more productive.