When, a few years ago, the Apple people decided to sue other companies for infringing what they called the "look and feel" of Apple programs, they were well aware of the value of that intangible quality, "look and feel", as it applies to computer users and programs. Many times, I have used programs which were technically very good only to find that they did not feel right to me. There was nothing wrong with the program as such but it just did not work for me. It might have been the presentation on screen; it might have been the metaphors which the program used; it might have been the arrangement of menus. Preference for programs is a very personal thing.
In the case of database programs, I have used a number since I started in personal computers. My first one was that great classic of shareware programs, PC-File. This was a simple flat file database program which went through many versions. It has recently been converted to Windows but it is only useful for simple database applications. When I took over as Software Librarian, I was given a dBASE application developed by Cedric Bear. I soon found it too constricting for my particular requirements. Despite Bill Simmon's best endeavours, I could not come to terms with dBASE itself - I did not like its look and feel.
Then I found Alpha Four, a DOS relational database. It was simple to use, even for a mug like me. I was able to develop an application to deal with our software library which could be used by the other software librarians, thanks to a gift of a run-time version by Alpha Four. It served our needs until we converted to CD-ROMs and the database was superfluous. Its database files were kept in .DBF form which can be read by dBASE and other programs so that changeover and convertibility are easy. This can be important.
For a while, I used Claris Filemaker Pro which has its own proprietary database format. At one stage, I found that FileMaker Pro was locking up and I was stuck with a database that I could not access - FileMaker Pro went out the window soon after!
For my personal needs, I bought a copy of Access 1.0, the Microsoft Windows database. I found it completely incompatible with my way of thinking. Even the easiest of tasks, like finding a set of records was difficult - a classic case of "look and feel" problems. Recently, I converted to Approach 3.0, a Lotus database for Windows. Although not quite as sophisticated as Access, it was simple to use. I was always having to look up the manual to get Access to work, but I found using Approach intuitive.
Now the Alpha Software company have brought out a Windows version of their database program called Alpha Five.
This article will give you my assessment of the new development. Alpha admit that they are late on the scene. But this has given them the chance to learn from other's mistakes.
The program arrived in a substantial box with a number of manuals and a set of program disks. Also provided is a "productivity pack", a collection of forms designed for business or home use and the "application 6-pack", a collection of six applications for business use with pre-defined reports, forms for viewing and entering data etc. As a bonus, the program WinDelete is included. WinDelete makes it easy to get rid of Windows programs without leaving unwanted files like DLL's in your Windows directory lying around.
The manuals are Getting Started, Tutorial, User's Guide and XBasic Reference (for Alpha5's database scripting language).Getting started is easy. If you are familiar with installing Windows programs, you do not really need the manual. The minimum requirements for Alpha5 are: 386DX+, 8Mb RAM, minimum 5 Mb, maximum 11 Mb of hard disk space, VGA+ monitor, mouse/trackball, DOS 5.0+ and WIN31+.
When the installation program starts, you have a choice of standard, custom or network installation, Then, you are asked to confirm the suggested directory: C:\A5. Finally, you are shown the space required for the various program elements and have a choice of which to install. The space required is: program 4.8Mb, sample data 0.7Mb, help files 2.0Mb, genies 0.8Mb and applications 1.1Mb. The install program offers to amend your CONFIG.SYS file to show Files=50 and Buffers=16 if necessary. And that is all there is to installation. In a similar way, you can install the Application 6-pack (7.3Mb) and the Productivity Pack (5Mb).
Alpha5 comes with a very good help system as well as a tutorial which helps you to come to terms with the program. When you are working, there are what Alpha5 calls "genies" and Microsoft calls "wizards" which take you through the steps involved in most common database operations such as reports, queries and database creation. When you want to create a new database, you can use one of a number of specimen applications both business and personal.
The heart of Alpha5 is the Control Panel. This gives you access to most of the common database operations. There are four tabs to choose from: Views gives you access to forms, browses, reports, mail labels, letters, queries, summaries and cross tabs; Tools enables you to append records to a database, copy records, export or import, join, mark, pack, post or update; Database is where you create, duplicate, erase, make field rules, set up indexes, open, rename, restructure or zap a database and edit a "set"; finally, Applications gives you access to the applications editor, the applications launcher, the script editor, the genies and so on.
The applications launcher comes with several ready-to-run applications: a database documenter to record the structure and components of a database, an application which emulates Alpha4, Alphadex - a card file organiser to store names and addresses and a scientific calculator. To help you get started, there is an "Application 6-Pack". This is a pre-configured set of databases with six applications. These can be used as is or modified to suit your needs.
They include an invoice application to generate invoices and control inventory; a purchase order application to generate invoices and control inventory, accounts payable to record, track and pay invoices, mail list management for names and addresses, contact manager which combines an address book, a date book and a note book and finally an employee management application to track departments, jobs, employees and job applicants.
The Productivity Pack is a collection of forms designed for business or home use. They can be used as is or modified. They are, in effect, a set of databases for use as you wish. They include a conference room schedule, telephone message, apartment rental, card and gift tracker, receipt, customer registration, investor analysis, membership application, photo album and others. With all of these aids and with the ability to import existing databases in ASCII format, DBF format, Rich Text Format, WP merge format, MS Excel, Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony, Alpha5 is an easy program to set up for operation.
Most major database programs are so similar these days that there is not much need to explain the detail of operation of Alpha5. It provides all of the major functions of a database. It provides for character, numeric, date, logical and memo fields for example. You can view or enter data in either a form or browse view. Because all of the icons show an explanatory label, it is easy to get to know the menu setup.
When entering data, there are keyboard shortcuts for most operations. For example, either <tab> or <enter> moves to a new field while <enter> on the last field of a record or <Control><enter> will save the record and move to a new record.
Queries and sorts are easy. From the query form, you can drag or click fields and functions to add to the query. Using the query form, you can generate quite complicated queries but for the most complex, you can use the expression builder which gives you access to all of the Alpha5 functions.
Field rules can be applied to any field. You can apply rules to change the case of a character field, require that the field be filled, define a format for all values, validate all entered values based on a criteria you specify, retrieve values from a separate list or database of values and automatically calculate field values.
Alpha5, we are told, was designed from the start as a database for non-programmers. The use of the set editor, field rules, the form editor, the object properties dialogue box and other utilities (quite complex operations) can be performed without the need to worry too much about the Alpha5 database language.
When you want to set up a specialised database, you need to set up scripts. For this purpose, Alpha5 provides a very sophisticated database language it calls XBasic.
XBasic is a structured language which follows much of the BASIC language syntax. It has three categories of functions: database functions such as db_use, get_first, db_append etc. which are used to open files, manipulate records etc; expression functions such as ABS LEFT TRIM which are common to most database and spreadsheet programs; and card and session functions such as card_call, card_paint, submit and obj_get which relate to the design of application windows ("sessions" in Alpha5). In the Script Editor, you can select any function from an integrated script tools palette. Debugging tools are provided. One novelty is the interactive window which allows you to test any XBasic function or expression immediately. There is ample documentation and help for XBasic.
So, what is my conclusion about Alpha5: Well, I have found it intuitive and simple to use. It has the advantage that it can be used by both programmers and non-programmers. Using the various tools, non-programmers can set up quite complex applications whilst programmers can program in the provided XBasic language.
The transfer to Windows seems to have been handled very well. The "look-and-feel" appeals to me. It uses most of the conventions of similar programs so that the learning curve will not be steep.
Overall, I would rank it very high and up with any of the market leaders in this field. In terms of value-for-money, it is good value.
Alpha Five for Windows is available from the Alpha Software Corporation, Unit 9, 4 Huntley Street, Alexandria NSW 2015 (02) 698 2213. Pricing details: Alpha5 is $149.95; Application 6-Pack is $39.95; and Productivity Pack is $29.95. But you can get the whole bundle for $199.95.