Thanks Tom - I'll take a look, it sounds good.
The problem that I always had is not knowing what the boss wanted! He or she
always has a habit of changing their mind halfway through and then going
back to what they first thought of or on to something totally different -
before coming back to were we were half-an-hour ago. Pretty standard in most
companies at some time or another, I guess. With RBDos, though, I had the
answers before the big-boys had even thought about how to begin with their
multi-million pound/dollar systems! And that's not because I was clever -
just that R:Base was (is!) so good. Export the data from the mainframe (or
whatever), bung it into R:Base and then use the browser - no programming,
not much thought, really. And, as Javier pointed out, print it from the
browser and get a reasonably well formatted output.
Of course there are ways to use RBWin as it is now to get the data now - no
doubt about that. But the old Dos version already had the functionality in
its browser and it was so easy to use. For me, the biggest plus was that the
layout stayed consistent from change to change of each query. If I want to
look for some errors in my data now, for example, I have to either do it in
one pass or reset the layout every time. If I then need to print it I have
to remember what I've done and either take the data into a word processor or
write a report.
Yes, I've found my ways around the problems in RBWin but I'd dump them in
the trash in an instant for half the functionality of the Dos browser. I'll
even happily use the mouse instead of the old function keys if need be.
As Dennis said, Microrim unfortunately got it wrong in that first Windows
version. But I shouldn't need to have (and have to pay for) the Dos version
as well because they're supposed to be the same thing - or so I believed.
The fact that RBDos is still needed says a lot - there can't be many, if
any, people running it on a true dos system, can there?
Regards,
Alastair
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Grimshaw" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, November 10, 2002 9:51 PM
Subject: Re: Views and Layout
G'day Alastair and Javier,
What I am about to suggest is not what you asked for but may
open up some doors for you.
What I wanted was a way to give users almost point and click
simplicity of use with the power of the in-built R:BASE WHERE
builder across multiple tables.
For novice SQLers the in-built R:BASE WHERE builder has the
disadvantages of:
1. needing to know how to properly construct SQL syntax,
2. having no on-screen definition of what the symbols mean,
3. having no samples available of how to correctly enter data,
4. needing to know the table structure and how to code
sub-selects in order to do a cross table query.
I already had extensive CHOOSE options so users could do the
more common cross table queries but not "Give me all the people
coded as top prospects in one state who have purchased a widget
in the last x months". That requires a query across Persons,
Addresses, TranHeader, TranDetail and ProductsServices. Most
of my users wouldn't even know that let alone how to create
such a query.
So I called my simple CHOOSE menus a "Simple Sifter" and built
what I call a "Super Sifter". This allows a user to:
1. select a table (persons or organisations,
2. select the first column on which to sift the data,
3. and enter the selection parameters (on a screen similar to
the WHERE builder but with explanations and sample data and
buttons to go to further help)
4. select the operator,
5. select whether to proceed from there to another linked table
and repeat steps 2 to 5.
At each pass it displays the SQL command it is progressively
building. It correctly builds sub-selects based on the table
relationships and as well as being a query builder is also
effectively an SQL tutor.
Once finished the user has the ability to save the result and
name the query for later retrieval and use.
'Cos I didn't figure out how to do it dynamically I built 3
forms. The table relationships and SQL display screen is
custom to BizMan but the WHERE builder type screen, and the
record selection options are generic.
If you want more mass on the theory above then download the
BizMan demo from our web site and plagiarize what you will.
From the Main Menu go to:
[Contact Manager\Persons\Browse those where...]
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