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AUGUST1990
NEWSLETTER OF ThE LOS ANGELES AREA FOXPRO / FOXBASE USER GROUP
FoxPro and the Future
The problem with these solutions is the
by Randy Unruh
lack of standards and the formidable
It seems that a possible development learning curve to effectively utilize them. for FoxPro this year will be an open at- Nantucket is attempting to address this chitecture similar to Clipper’s. The word with replaceable file drivers (a way to ad- on the street is that Fox Software will dress different data file types) in Clipper attempt to design an open architecture 5.0 and Fox Software reportedly has a system compatible with the Clipper Ex- database server project in the works.
tend system. What this means, if it comes aside from the connectivity issue in to pass, is that FoxPro will be able to run the Dbase Language world there are third party libraries written for Clipper several other areas that have not been with little or no modifications. The pos- addressed in the past and issues that will sibilities for developers to pick and choose need to be addressed in the future. The to meet the requirements of any given following is an excerpt from a letter I project will be numerous and will require wrote to the president of Fox Software, careful thought and a great deal of sup. David Fulton:
port. This necessary support will spawn a
If, as a user, I may request some
whole new area of Dbase language niche features for future versions of FoxPro business for professional consultants just then allow me to presume on your as Clipper’s open architecture spawned tolerance a bit further. In my opinion the third party library vendor business, one of the great lacks (and strengths)
The drawback will be the areas where of the Dbase world is the limited (but the Dbase languages are traditionally simple to use) .dbf file structures and weak. Connectivity is probably the the lack of a data dictionary. Since Fox primary weakness of Dbase for the cor- recognized as a standard for porate world. Clipper can be used as a the Dbase language i believe that Fox front end for the Gupta SQL Base server will find even greater acceptance with through The Library from Planet a more generous file structure with Software and as a front end for the Novell longer field names and more data SQL server through the library RASQL types. FoxPro could work with both the from Communications Horizons. Other old and new .dbf file types and the new software/hardware combinations provide structure could be differentiated from connections to mainframe sessions
through the IBM HILLAPI standard.
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President’s Report
by Greg Dunn
ibis month we are fortunate to have Joel Kneisley, direct from Fox Software, as our speaker. Come with plenty of
questions!
We Have a Home!
Thanks to one of our members, Pam Leslie, and to the hospitality of her employer, Southern California Edison, we now have a “permanent” home. Our new meeting room will be at Edison’s facility in Long Beach. Located just three blocks past the end of the Long Beach Freeway (710) at 100 Long Beach Boulevard (near the Long Beach Con. vention Center), the facility will seat 100 people comfortably. We are very grateful to Pam and others at Edison who are
making this possible!
But One More Thursday Meeting...
Our August meeting will again be on a Thursday night, this time that we can take advantage of the presence in town of our speaker from Fox Software. Note that it is not “the second Thursday”, but rather the “Thursday after the second Tuesday.” Easier still just to remember
“the 16th”!
...Then Back to Tuesdays
Beginning in September we will return to our plan of “second Tuesday” meetings. For that meeting we tentatively plan a panel and an open Q&Asession on Foxbase and FoxPro. If you’re interested in participating on the panel, which will involve preparing a 10-minute presentation, please let a member of the steering committee know. More on this next
month!
Call for Presenters and Authors
If you’re interested in being a presenter at one of our group meetings, please contact me (Greg Dunn), Charles Williams, or one of the other steering committee members. We’d like to see a demo of your vertical market Foxbase or FoxPro application; a discussion of how you handled a particular technical prob. lem; or other things that would be of interest to members. There’s no better

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August Meeting
Topic:
"Foxbase, FoxPro, and Fox Software Inc."
PRESENTER Joel Knelsley Fox Software
DATE:
Thursday, 16 August 1990
TIME. 7:3OPM
PLACE: Southern Cailtornia Edison
100 Long Beach Boulevard
(1 blk ri. of Ocean BIvd, Thomas Guide map 75 C5)
tong Beach
1st FIoor Con1erence Room
Everything you always wanted tO ask Fox Software but
couldn’t because you didn’t want to go to Toledo!
ADMISSION $5 TO NON-MEMBERS

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