#Superbase futures?
5 messages in this thread
I have been watching this Superbase forum for two and a half years now
noting the hot and cold nature of Superbase support (mostly cold). It now
seems that Precision is (at least somewhat) serious about support for the
Amiga again as the coming release of SBPro 4 and use of this forum by
Precision people shows. This is very good and I hope that it keeps up, but
there is a long way to go before I will feel that Superbase is to be
considered a professional database product for the Amiga. In order to help
my (and, probably, many other people's) understanding of Superbase and
where it is going, I hope that the Precision people will take this message
and develop an *official* reply to its questions that will be uploaded here
(or in AmigaArts) so that future users may also see it.
1. Give us a sense of how orphaned us users of Superbase for the Amiga
are. Have any really good example programs on how to use Superbase been
developed? Do you have any reports of SBPro Amiga being used in any real
business environment to the satisfaction of the users? Is Precision still
considering the brief mention once made of developing add-on applications
for Superbase?
2. SQL has been mentioned here as being part of SBPro 4. Is this
official? How far does support of SQL go (is it more than just the SELECT
statement)? Obviously, you can't be precise about this until the release
of SBPro 4, but you could at least give us a *warm fuzzy* feeling about it.
3. Arexx is in SBPro 3, but the documentation is very confusing on how to
use it. For instance, can SBPro be used as a data server by Arexx
compatible programs (the Arexx programs call SBPro for data *rather than*
vice versa)? In this mode, can the display of SBPro be turned off (via
TOOLTYPES?) so that it would work quicker as a server? How is information
passed between Arexx and Superbase (for instance, parameter passing to the
Arexx program)? How well is Arexx incorporated in SBPro 4?
<continued>
You are not orphaned at all. On the new SBPro 4 disk, there are quite a few
examples, one of them is quite enormous, and two of them are Arexx examples
which I wrote. I get calls everyday from people using Superbase in a
professional environment. Rarely do I get a derogatory comment. As for the
applications, I don't know about it. SQL will be incorporated into SBPro 4,
but I'm not sure if it will be in the initial release or not. I think it
might be a later upgrade. As for how comprehensive it is, it is quite
complete. In the Windows version (the Amiga version will be the same), you
can use an embedded SQL command where a normal DML command would go. They
can be used to communicate with multiple SQL databases and database
servers. There are also interactive facilities for importing and exporting
data between SB and SQL tables.
Arexx is complete even in SBPro v3.02. You can send SB any DML command and
it will execute it. Or you can turn results on and send SB a field name and
have it return the value of that field. Or you can send ARexx commands from
DML using the CALL port$ EXECUTE command$ command. If you have specific
Rexx questions, please ask me. I know the current manual is lacking. The
SBPro4 manual will have an entire chapter devoted to ARexx support.
<continued>
Any other responses notwithstanding, here are some of the answers you're
looking for. To the extent that your questions are addressed (you'll note
that there are no technical answers here), you may consider these to be
'official' responses:
1) At this point, there is no reason to consider SB Amiga users to be
'orphaned' in any way, even if only by dint of the new release coming
up.
This version is based on our 1.21 version of SB4 for MS Windows (DOS),
which is already in use by 30,000+ users around the world (3X that of
SBPro) since it was introduced a little over a year ago. Many of these
users are in major corporations, who have database needs far in excess
of
those typically required on any stand-alone system. Consider that the
next version, then, is the result of 2 years' testing (counting beta
cycles) in a very rigorous environment, or call the PC users 'Amiga beta
testers' if you prefer….<G>
As to reports of SBPro being used in business, no, we have very few
reports of its successful use… or rather, its *widespread* successful
use. That is not to say that we know of nothing, but what we *do* know
of is not very complete, tho' not for lack of trying. We will be
monitoring this more closely once SB4 comes out, especially in terms of
cross-platform use; it is nevertheless up to users to be more
forthcoming
than they have been in the past.
We will not be designing or otherwise directly providing add-in or
add-on
applications, but will be in a position to assist developers with
promoting
their own applications much better than we have been able to in the
past…
*if* we are told about them. More info on this will be forthcoming in
May.
Question 2 answered in next reply….
–Duke Lane
Dir, Marketing & Communications
Precision Software
<Responses, cont'd>
2. SQL will *not* be supported in the initial release of SB4 Amiga. This
release
is based on our PC version 1.21, which does not support SQL, tho' our
v1.3
(now in beta) does. It is not anticipated that v1.3 code will make it to
the
Amiga until such time as a CBM network is available and a network
version of
SB4A is available.
FYI, the way SB4 (Windows) handles SQL is thru an 'add-on' product
called
the SB SQL Library. What SBSQL does is to translate text strings, which
are
SQL statements followed by bind variables or arrays, into the correct
'dialect'
of ANSI standard SQL expected by the receiving back end, which returns
the
data requested to SB. Supported back ends include MS SQL Server and
Gupta's
SQL Base, followed by Oracle, DB2 and others. In addition, you can get
to
other SQL DB's via gateway products available from 3rd parties.
How — and if — this will be implemented in SB4A has not yet been
finalized.
Stay tuned to this forum for details as they become available.
3. is more technical than I can respond to at this point. Please address
this
question to either Michael Sharpe or Andy Long (76702,774).
More responses in reply to your next query follow.
–Duke Lane
Dir, Mktg & Comms
Precision Software
I don't know what network you've been waiting for, but I've used Amiga's in
networks already. I've seen several connected via Appletalk, and connected
to Macs very successfully. The software wasn't as good as some Mac stuff,
but it got the job done with no problems. (Sure made moving those multimeg
files easier.)
Michael