Mind your own business records
A SPLENDID database program which incorporates a range of facilities
similar programs will find hard to match is Dbasebeeb, by Carrera
Computing.
The screen presentation is good and the program makes very full
use of colour.
It has the basic functions of adding, amending, deleting and
saving records and also a generous supply of more specialist options
which I will describe in turn:
• Add an extra field. If the format of the records proves inadequate
and extra information has to be held, then this facility allows
extra fields to be easily incorporated into the records without
having to start a file from scratch.
• Define screen format. The layout of the fields as they appear
on the screen can be freely altered and re-altered. When a file
is saved details of the format currently being used are preserved
so that when that file is loaded again the records are displayed
as before.
• Printing the file. All or some of the records on the file
can be printed out, records being chosen individually by record
number or according to search criteria. (See the Find function
below.) The user can also define which fields of the records are
to be printed and the format in which they are to appear on the
printed output. They could, for example, be printed out in address
label format.
• Calculations can be performed on numeric fields and the user
can choose between either obtaining the total of a numeric field
or performing other calculations.
Up to five field references can be made in a calculation and
this will allow quite complex calculations to be performed, the
answers being stored in a specified numeric field.
• Find records. Up to eight selection criteria can be applied
to the records. Each criterion consists of a minimum and a maximum
field value or a search can be performed for the occurrence of
a specified string anywhere in the field. This option can be used
in conjunction with the print facility described above.
• Sorting. The program asks the user to indicate which field
is to be used for the sort and whether the sort is to be in ascending
or descending order.
Each sort is performed on one field at a time, but if the file
is to be sorted on the basis of more than one field, performing
the sort in reverse order of significance will result in the required
file order.
If a name and address file is to be sorted in ascending name
order within town order (that is the alphabetically arranged population
of Abington appearing before the population of Bath and so on)
sorting on name then on town will produce the correct order. •
Multiple entries. This allows identical data to be placed in chosen
fields of all or a number of records.
One drawback is that such a comprehensive program occupies quite
a lot of memory, limiting the space available for the data. Approximately
100 records, each of about 55 characters, can be held in any file.
These figures are based on the whole of the program being resident
in memory and could be improved if the program could be broken
into segments, bringing into memory only the piece needed at the
time. This is precisely what is offered on the second side of
the tape.
The program is divided into five sections. The main control
section is always resident in memory and the four others are overlayed
into memory as required.
This increases the capacity of files which can be handled to
approximately 155 records of 55 characters.
To use the segmented program as described really requires a
disc drive so that the loading of sections is reasonably fast.
However if a user finds that only certain sections of the program
are ever required, instructions are provided on how to construct
a tailored program.
This would then be used as a single, unsegmented program and
would work well on tape.
This is an excellent database program offering a very wide range
of facilities. I look forward to further offerings from Carrera
Computing.
Ken Garrett
