Tools Of The Trade

by Charlie Rider

This is the start of a continuing newsletter

column. Permission to copy this column is

freely granted to any user group newsletter.

Since the development of

dBASE ffl+ for XT class Per-

sonal Computers, and especially

since the later development of

the Clipper compiler in the

winter of 1985, the PC database

market has been flooded with a

wide variety of aftermarket

products. These products have

extended the Dbase language

into a full-blown and extremely

powerful database management

and development system for

microcomputers.

There is always much discussion

about future products and too

little information about good

products that are available right

now. We just have a hard time

finding out about these good

products and we surely don’t

have the time or money to try

them all out.

Developers and other users are

steadily moving away from

products that promise “the

complete database solution in a

single box” to stand-alone

products that take full advantage

of the open architecture, for

both hardware and software, so

that we are free to pick and

choose to build our own devel-

opment or application environ-

ment.

What Tools for Which Trade?

The Trade

Let’s address the trade aspect

first. The particular trade in

question is what used to be

called a programmer in the early

days - because there was just that

one job that did just about

everything in the computer

business.

Today the trade should probably

be called Software Developer or

just Developer, because in the

aerospace view, a programmer is

now a catch-all title that covers

too much territory. Programmer

may now mean a system engi-

neer/analyst (working on the

requirements - the WHAT -

specification), a system architect/

designer (working on the design

- the HOW - specification) or an

individual who translates de-

tailed pseudo-language to a

particular target language (who

is now generally called a coder, a

target language specialist).

The wheel is seldom re-invented

any more; at least it doesn’t need

to be. Very good algorithms

(procedures to follow to solve a

particular problem) have been

developed for almost every

contingency; you just have to

know which is the best one to

“steal” and where to find it.

You, as a developer, now primar-

ily develop specific applications

either for some client or your-

self. The particular applications

areas to be addressed in this

column are those dealing with

various aspects of the database

arena - managing the storage and

retrieval of data.

In earlier times young men (sorry

about that ladies) were appren-

ticed to skilled craftsmen to

perform menial tasks at very low

or non-existent wages until they

learned the trade by observation

of the master at work (or were

sent away in disgrace).

There were no books or classes

available to teach these skills.

There are still many skills that

continue to be learned this way

in Europe and the Far East.

After an individual (both men

and women) is accepted to work

in a particular Dutch china

factory, they must follow the lead

of the master craftsmen for 20

years or so until they are deemed

capable of proper design before

they are allowed to design even

non-product pieces on their own.

In Detroit prospective automo-

tive designers still work for many

years before any of their efforts

actually find their way to the

finished product. We developers

are extremely fortunate because

we do have so many readily

available examples of proper

code and good training opportu-

nities to guide us in our endeav-

ors.

The Took

Every skilled craftsman has a

toolbox of favorite, and generally

very specialized, tools that have

been collected over the years of

performing the tasks associated

with the craft. Some of the tools

may appear strange to an out-

sider but they are perfectly

suited to the particular task at

hand.

Remember the days before the

“pop-top” can when a very

specialized tool called a piercing

can opener was used to open

canned beverages? Or you may

remember it as a “ church key.” It

was really only good for that one

task, but it did that task very well

and you were lost without it.

Another special tool was the

folding can opener that came

packed in the C Ration boxes -

every good field soldier had a “P-

38” on his or her dog tag chain.

It doesn’t stop there, rookie

players continue to learn “moves”

from the regulars, just like they

started doing in the sandlots

after elementary school. The

regulars also learn new things

from the rookies (even if they

are reluctant to admit it).

Continued on Page 9.

The Newsletter of the Dbase Language Professional Developers Group, October 1990

Page 8