The LA Fox Developer Newsletter

April 1999

We Get Letters Dept....

PowerHelp for FoxPro

My name is Glenn Mason, and I’d like to share a unique

opportunity for you to try a new, exciting product for Visual

FoxPro and FPW 2.x. POWERHELP is an automated Help

writer for FoxPro that creates context-sensitive, on-line Help

systems and printed User Manuals for all of your FoxPro apps

in minutes. PowerHelp can create Windows 3.x Winhelp,

Windows 95/98/NT Winhelp, NEW HTML Help and printed

manuals in Word format. To learn more check out

www.micromason.com.

Currently I am trying to forge marketing strategies that broaden

exposure to our new product. In light of this, we are currently

offering a 25% discount to all FoxPro User Group officers and

$25 discounts to ALL members of your FoxPro user groups.

We only ask that you display our PowerHeip User Group!

Partnership banner on your web sites.

Please feel free to contact me at any time to order PowerHelp

or sign up for this special offer that will benefit all of your FUG

members.

Job Op

We are a company located in South Orange County.— Lake

Forest, CA — looking for a FoxPro 2.6 programmer for an

update on our custom quote/invoicing program. We will probably

need someone 10-20 hours/week for 2-3 months on-site. If you

are in this area and have this expertise, please contact me via

email or phone. Otherwise, if you could refer me or this mes-

sage to anyone you may know with these talents/availability, it

would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your time!

Marlene Davis

Controller

International Color Posters

949/380-2124

marlened©intlcolorposters.com

Out and About (Con’t from page 3)

month agreement, it will provide customers with unlimited

Internet service, e-mail and Web hosting, and a 300 MHz

personal computer. The computer will be loaded with Win-

dows98, CD-ROM, sound card, and 56K fax/data/voice modem

for free to attract home users, students, educational institutions,

and other organizations that need to get online. Customers can

also purchase more features. To contact the company, visit

http://www.intersquid.com, or call (877) 724-3733.

Was it Really a Shock? Just as this issue of The Developer

was going to press, the Los Angeles Lakers announced a

(Con’t, page 7)

Sorting Out Job Titles

from VVhil Hcntzen

10. Programmer - This person holds the lowest rank in the OP

field. Manages No One Answers to everyone. Approximately

50% of the Programmer’s time is scheduled for testing. Another

50% is spent filling out time cards and progress reports. Any

time left over is spent attending classes on technologies that

will never be used in the shop. The Programmer is appraised on

code quality and reliability. Never has time to write any. Hopes

to, someday, be promoted to Systems Analyst.

9. Systems Analyst. The Syctems Analyst refuses to write

code anymore. Designs new systems. Writes specs for new

systems. Devises procedures and work flows for new system

but ends up training users on old ones. Next in line fQr Team

Leader Position.

8. Team Leader. A Team Leader Manages one project. Doesn’t

know why he’s not a Project Leader, that’s what he has on his

resume.

7. Project Leader. Manages several projects at once. Analyzes

Gant charts from the Team Leaders’ projects. Monitors

deliverables from the Team Leaders’ projects. Has absolutely no

idea what any of Team Leaders’ projects are about. Wants to be

a programmer again.

6. Operator. The Operator wields powers that the Project Leader

can only dream about. Makes Programmers beg for tape drives.

Makes Analysts beg for disk space. Makes Team Leaders beg

for printouts. Has an uncanny understanding of career potential

in the data processing industry. Going to law school at night.

5.

Systems Programmer. Even an Operator wants to be a

System Programmer. A Systems Programmer has the author-

ity to wipe out disk packs without warning. Crash the system

during user demos. Make new releases appear, then disappear,

the reappear again, especially during month-end processing.

4.

DBA. No one really know what the Database Administrator

does and no one is smart enough to know if the DBA is doing it

or not. But every shop must have one, because no place can

afford two of them.

3.

Manager. A department manager is sometimes called a

Director or an Assistant Vice-President. Has completely lost

touch with any facsimile of technology. Wants to finish next

year’s budget. wants to finish last year’s appraisals. Wants to

learn the names of some programmers. But instead only has

time to interview job applicants, especially DBAs.

2.

Department Secretary. The Programmers have word process-

ing. The Managers have electronic mail. Everyone has auto-

matic phone messaging. This leaves the Department Secretary

with all kinds of time to manipulate, control, and dispense the

three most basic employee needs: Paychecks, rumors, &

(Con’t, page 8)

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