Content area
Full Text
A-Clipper, from Computer Associates International Inc., long has been known as the compiled Xbase language, and it is just that: a compiled language, albeit a high-level one. It also is one program high on the list of shoppers considering DOS database tools, so we tested Clipper using the criteria from our February 21 (page 67) comparison of DOS programmable databases.
To help CA-Clipper fit more readily into our fast-paced, incrementally refined application development scenario, we added a number of other tools to our toolkit: objectDb from Princeton Micran Associates Inc. to handle the data dictionary, transaction processing, and integrity enforcement; ProVision Windows from SofDesign International Inc., a user interface builder and application framework; FlexFile II from Ganahl Software Inc. for memo, binary large object, and variable-length field support; R&R Report Writer Xbase Edition and R&R Code Generator from Concentric Data Systems Inc. for writing reports and generating the related CA-Clipper code; and CA-Clipper/ExoSpace from Computer Associates to allow our application to use extended memory.
Hovering in the background was a limited runtime version of AppSolutions' Class(y), which is part of the objectDb package. Class(y) is an object-oriented language extension that turns CA-Clipper into a real OOP language.
Although these add-on tools provide impressive functionality, they also add a layer of complexity that can make some application bugs more difficult to track down. We ran into elusive problems when we constructed our batch transaction processing program with the help of objectDb's transaction processing class library and decided instead to write the transaction processing code by hand (as we did with the products in our February comparison). All scores except those for speed, batch transaction processing, support policies, and technical support are based on our use of the add-on products.
PERFORMANCE:
Speed: Importing and indexing: CA-Clipper was slower than most of the products in our February comparison at importing and indexing our data files. It trailed Borland International Inc.'s Paradox by about 25 percent but completed the job in well under an hour. CA-Clipper earns a score of very good.
Speed: Querying and reporting: CA-Clipper consistently took more than nine times as long as the fastest program on our querying and reporting tasks. (Microsoft Corp.'s FoxPro and Borland's Paradox were close competitors for the lead position.)...