Reflex Database
Volume Number: 4
Issue Number: 1
Column Tag: Editorial & Letters
Reflex Plus, a Mac-Friendly Database
By David Smith, Editor & Publisher
Tool Design the MultiFinder Way: An Editorial
Last month we began a series of editorials hi-lighting products in each category
that conform to the new way of doing things on the Mac, required by MultiFinder,
AppleShare, new menu types, and the Macintosh II.
We offered Write Now as an ideal word processor that meets our expectations for
Mac software under the ‘new rules of the game’. Except for the fact that Write Now
blasts it’s ruler on the desktop, instead of in a window, Write Now conforms very well
to the MultiFinder friendly design rules that software should follow. Before we look at
the database category of software, let’s review why Write Now is a good example of the
new way of doing things:
• multiple windows work correctly
Write Now can open multiple documents in re-sizeable and moveable windows,
one of the chief requirements for MultiFinder friendliness. Windows are very
important in the new way of doing things, because the user must be able to make the
window small and shove it out of the way or to another screen while his attention is
temporarily diverted to another application. Fixed size or immovable windows are a
no-no!
• Single-minded tool
Write Now does one thing only, and does it well. It does word processing! It is
simple, straight-forward in use, has no hidden feature functions that are not
immediately obvious and does it’s job very reliably. It has two nice features, a
built-in spelling checker that is very convenient to invoke, and an easy to use leading
feature which is particularly important for Pagemaker, which can also import it’s
files directly and respects the leading setting of Write Now paragraph by paragraph.
There is no ‘purpose clutter’ from a program that can’t make up it’s mind whether it’s
a word processor or a layout program.
• Small size and cost
Since tools must now share the resources, it no longer is considered ‘fair’ to be a
big system hog and take all the memory (and the money!) with large, high-priced
software. Write Now is inexpensive (under $100), fast and small (80K versus 357K
for MS Word), so it can co-exist with other tools without requiring 5 megs of
memory.
• Easy to Learn
There is a growing trend toward tools that come with six inches of documentation
and 300K help files! The Mac look and feel, if properly implemented, should result in
an obvious and easy program to learn and use. The Write Now manual is reasonable in
length and the program uncomplicated, but flexible and powerful for the task it was
intended. This is good tool design, the Macintosh way.
Fig. 1 The Reflex Plus Database window shows our Church Membership or Geneology
database example
FileMaker Plus: The Best ‘Flat’ Database
In the application world of databases, Filemaker Plus has always been regarded as
the best flat database product on the market for any computer. It too follows the new
way of doing things. The very first version works on a Macintosh II; not many
programs can make that claim. They have never had to revise the program to meet
Apple’s changing system! I don’t know of any other significant Mac program that can
say that. It is interesting that when Microsoft bought PowerPoint from Forethought,
they didn’t buy FileMaker Plus! Is it because FileMaker Plus is far superior to
Microsoft File? FileMaker Plus is inexpensive, fast and small in size (260K), uses
windows properly and does a single minded job very well and with great flexibility.
Nearly anything can be imported or exported from the program. FileMaker Plus
typifies the new way of doing things for a flat database product. What we have said for
years is that the world needs a relational FileMaker. We think we have found it. Read
on.
Reflex Plus: The Ideal Relational Database
Goldylocks sat on the Hypercard chair and said “This chair is too soft”. Then she
sat on the Fourth Dimension chair and said “This chair is too hard”. Finally, she sat
down on the Reflex Plus chair and said “This chair is just right”, and she finished her
database design and fell fast asleep.
Borland’s new relational database, Reflex Plus, is the best Macintosh database
that conforms to the new way of doing things on the Mac. It is simple to use and operate,
very flexible in design, low cost (only $275 compared to $500 for dBase Mac), and
small in size (250K versus 730K for Fourth Dimension). It completely solves the
generalized relational problem between arbitrary files in a flexible way that makes
the generation of complex database applications a snap. We converted an Omni 3
database that took two weeks to design into Reflex Plus in two days, and that includes
time to unpack and glance at the manual! On the third day, we had added more reports,
fields, and files to the design that we never did get around to figuring how to implement
in Omni 3. All the information in our Omni 3 database was easily exported and
imported into our Reflex Plus design. An outline of the design for a Church
membership system or a genealogy system, where families and members of families
must be tracked, is shown in figure 1. This type of application is particularly good for
checking out database products because it is so obviously relational.
Mac Friendly
One of the best features of Reflex Plus is the ability to use the Macintosh way of
doing things to design the database file, record and field relationships. Opening a new
database file, results in a graphic box in the overview window. Each entry in the box
represents a field in each record. Relations between the fields of different records in
different files are established by drawing a line from one field to another! What could
be more Mac’ish or easier than this? The over-all visual effect of being able to always
see the total database design is both stunning and effective. You immediately see new
things to add or change in the design, so that very quickly you can create the most
sophisticated relationships. Fourth Dimension also has this ability, but Reflex Plus is
much easier to set up. In fact, Reflex Plus makes a great template designer for Fourth
Dimension, but after quickly creating something in Reflex Plus, you may not want to
bother porting the design to Fourth Dimension, unless you want to protect your design
and sell it.
Export Function for Reports Needs Help
Reflex Plus has both an import and export facility, but the export function is
slightly brain-damaged. It can’t export a report to a text file arbitrarily. If the report
is relational, that is it uses nested repeating collections, only one repeating collection
at a time can be exported, in effect, flattening out the database. We think any database
program worth it’s salt should be able to take anything it can create on paper and send
it to a text file so that reports can be merged into other corporate communications
electronically, with page layout programs. This is one of the strong features of Omni 3
and we would like to see it added to Reflex Plus. Other than this small problem, Reflex
Plus wins our award as the best Macintosh relational database, exemplifying the new
way of doing things in a Multifinder universe. There doesn’t seem to be any kind of
database application we can’t create with it in just a few hours. I can’t even figure out
how to get Fourth Dimension booted up in much less time than that!
Printing in Columns Supported
One tricky task we wanted to do was to print a report in columns. Loree Flescher
of Borland showed us how to easily add a few fields to our report to compute the
number of lines used by the nested repeating collections, and to divide the records into
left and right side so that the report correctly prints records up and down in two
columns. Figure 2 shows how this is done, by making a ‘calculation report’, and then a
second, ‘honest-to-gosh’ report that copies the fields of the calculation report into
double columns.
Make Any Database Print in Columns
A neat trick to make any database program print in columns is to modify the
postscript code when the document prints. Press cmd-F just after clicking PRINT in
the print dialog box and a postscript file image of your report will be created. Scan
this file with a text editor and you should see two lines at every page break:
F T cp
%%Page: ? 2
By deleting these two lines on the even pages and inserting a translate command
on the odd pages, after the cp command, your report will be automatically formatted
into columns, when you dump the postscript to the LaserWriter:
Even pages: replace with
280 0 translate
Odd pages: use the following
F T cp
-280 0 translate
%%Page: ? 2
The cp command is ‘LaserPrep’ shorthand for a macro which is defined in the
LaserPrep file. Within that macro is a show page function, which ejects the page. The
translate command moves the origin to the middle of the page, so by removing the show
page, the next page gets printed on the same page, right side. On the odd pages, you
move the origin back, so the next page comes out on the left side. Simple! You might
also want to adjust the %%Page command with the corrected count of pages as well as
the last %%Page command in the file which has the total page count, now half what it
was. It is amazing what a little postscript knowledge can do for you. (We would really
like to see a definition article that explains most of the postscript macros contained in
the LaserPrep file. This file can be dumped out by pressing cmd-K instead of cmd-F at
print time. This would greatly help in decoding cmd-F postscript dumps.)
Get a Big Screen, or Multiple Screens!
One point of advice, and this probably applies to any database product, you should
have a large monitor or multiple monitors if possible. Working with two monitors on a
Mac II was a real joy in setting up Reflex Plus applications because there was room for
the many windows created for the files, entry forms, and report forms, all of which
are very flexibly implemented. In preparing this editorial, I moved the program to a
Mac SE and the small screen felt very uncomfortable.
Things We Would Like To See
A few improvements we would like to see, besides the repair of the export
function for reports already mentioned, is some additional built-in functions,
particulary one to convert a string into a number. This seems oddly missing, since the
converse function of making a number into a string is included. The other area of
concern, and again this might apply to other products as well, is that the Apple date
routines are used. As a result, dates are limited to something like 1904 to 2039. Well,
my Grandmother is still living and she was born in 1899 so I can’t enter her birthdate
into a birthday file! Also, I plan to be around after 2039 so what happens then? A few
more formatting options for dates would be nice also. We used a LOOKUP function to
read the string label, ‘JAN” for a month and use it in our reports, so it is possible, but
it could also be built-in to the product as well.
Differing Philosophy
There are two approaches to building a general database program. You can make it
programmable so developers can create commercial templates and sell them to vertical
market applications. Or you can make it user friendly so the end user can constantly
adjust, change or modify the design in a Mac-like friendly way. This eliminates the
need for database programmers in many applications. Borland has taken the latter
approach with Reflex Plus, while programs like Fourth Dimension and dBase Mac have
taken the former approach. (Some might argue that you can do both in one program.)
We think Borland is right on target with their approach. A well-designed database
program should not have to be programmable to be flexible. There is however, a
legitimate need for database designs that are programmable and unchangeable. For some
applications, the ease with which you can change a Reflex Plus design may be a
problem (a protect object menu item is provided, but no password protection). And it
is not clear how suitable Reflex Plus would be for a multi-user application over
AppleShare, where more than one Mac user must work on a common database at a time.
It appears the product is best suited for the single user category. In any case, the
program best exemplifies good use of the Macintosh user interface, and conforms to the
expected Mac behavior and ease of use most of us love about the Mac. After using it, I
am convinced I can create any database application in a matter of hours with this
product. And with my busy life, the speed with which I can ‘figure it out’ and get the
job done is very important. (Too bad MPW can’t be like this product!)
Step 1: Define a report to print out all the family records, with the family member
records for that family nested within the family. This is a nested 'repeating collection'
on the records of the family file and the linked records of the member file.
To get the report to print in columns, we define extra fields. The first is a constant
showing how many lines per column we want, placed outside the family repeating
collection.
The second, shown selected here, is a count of the number of member records linked to
this family. We add four to the numbe because our report has four printed lines per
family for family information.
Step 2: The column number for the family record is computed modulo 2 from the total
line count used so far in comparison to the lines per column.
Step 3: The total line count so far is computed by adding the lines of the current record
(family + members) to the previous value and checking to see if we still fit on the
page. If not, we keep the count the same, otherwise, we add these lines.
Step4: The 'real' report is made by duping the 'calculating report' and copying the
fields on the left and right side of the page. Those families which have a 1 in their
colmun number in the previous report will appear on the left; those families which
have a 0 in their column number will appear on the right. The five 'calculating' fields
on the dummy report are not printed.
Fig. 2 Making Reflex Plus Print Reports in Columns
Other New Products of Interest First MPW Book Arrives!
Joel West has released his new MPW book, published by Bantam Books, titled
Programming with Macintosh Programmer’s Workshop. This book immediately puts
Bantum Books at the head of the class in Macintosh development support. This is a
fantastic work Joel has produced. Run, don’t walk to the nearest bookstore and buy this
book! After seeing this, I may become an MPW convert after all!
Mac Technical Mag Bites the Dust
Another Macintosh technical magazine has gone down in flames. Mac A.P.P.L.E.,
which was the Macintosh version of the old Call A.P.P.L.E., the finest technical Apple
Journal ever published, has changed its name and identity. It is now called Macintosh
Horizons, and plans on concentrating on office applications, and less on the technical
Macintosh user. This change leaves only MacTutor and Nibble Mac currently
attempting to address the technical Macintosh user community. Fluff wins again!
Contact A.P.P.L.E. Co-op at (206) 251-5222 for more information.
Vertical Market Hypercard Stacks Arrive
The CAD/CAM Journal for the Macintosh Professional, a magazine covering only
CAD/CAM applications on the Mac, has announced Hypercard stack libraries for
CAD/CAM applications. This is probably the first of what will become a growing trend:
re-packaging information into Hypercard stacks and selling them like books. Contact
the CAD/CAM Journal, c/o Sunny Services, 950 Willopenn Drive, Southhampton, PA
18966.
The Women Break into the Market
Two cute products produced by women have made it to market. Kay Weiger has
released “The Grandmother’s Guide to the Macintosh”, self-produced and published on
a Mac, for the benefit of those of us not blessed with the technical background to
understand computers, but nevertheless, want to use them. This is a very easy and
gentle introduction to the Mac that helps a person get going with MacWrite and
MacPaint, who doesn’t have any computer background. Ideal for children too. Contact
Kay at Box 217, New Vernon, NJ 07967. Her little guide costs $9.50 plus $1.50
shipping.
For those wives who must compete with the Mac for their Husband’s attention,
Sarah Tenebaum and Pam Novy have created MacWidow, a comforting publication for
wives and lovers of MacAddicts who would enjoy some humor waiting for their love
ones to burn out. The publication includes an advice column titled Dear Macky, to
advise those seeking to either reclaim their Husbands, house space or both from Mac
encroachment. The first issue is $3.95 and can be obtained from MacWidow, 10 Rio
Pinar Trail, Ormond Beach, FL 32074.
Borland Releases Eureka
Borland has formed a new Macintosh group to get serious about Macintosh product
development. On the heels of their Reflex Plus product, comes Eureka, an equation
solver in the same vein as the old TK! Solver! that was so popular, but has since
disappeared from the market. Look for more information on this product in the future,
as we loved TK! Solver! and am glad there is now a new product to fill the void. Contact
Borland at 408-438-8400.
Borland has also announced the long-awaited upgrade to Turbo Pascal, version
1.1. Can it return a RECT from a function call? No, our Tear Off Menu article in Dec.
won't compile!
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