CompuServe Messages

Hi, Lanny– Xbase is the standard that is/was used by dBase, which was ruled public domain. What it could do that text databases cannot do is keep the field names and definitions, so you do not have to rename/resize/etc each time you import, and allow the database to be multiple related tables. One table could be the IMA-named minerals with their invariant properties, another table could relate synonyms to the IMA-names, another could list sites and site-specific properties of the mineral at that site, and so on. A relational database manager could do automatic lookups (you enter a nonstandard name, it automatically shifts to the IMA name, and that sort of thing). –Doug