~4 minute readTHE EXECUTIVE COMPUTER
Making Databases More Accessible
OF the three basic software applications that dominate the business world, the popularity of database programs has lagged far behind word processing and spreadsheet applications. Despite a database's enormous potential for manipulating business information, it is only now slowly coming into its own.
Unlike word processing and spreadsheets, computerized databases have no common ground in our day-to-day world. The analogies often drawn between a database and a Rolodex or a file drawer are easy enough to comprehend, but they often leave people thinking that the traditional ways of dealing with information are sufficient. The advantages of database software versus pencil and paper manipulation of such information as sales data, investment portfolios, purchase orders, materials management and the like are not easily discernible.
The cover of darkness surrounding database programs is partly because they are so difficult to handle. The classic database programs, such as dBase II, even have their own programming language that must be mastered before the software can be fully tapped. Most people, however, have no interest in learning how to program. Database programs thus often appear to be hopelessly beyond their inclinations and abilities.
But a new program, Cornerstone ($495 for the I.B.M. PC and compatibles from Infocom, Cambridge, Mass. 02138, (617) 492-1031) may well change the popular notions about database software. Billed as "the sophisticated database system for the non-programmer," its contribution to the popularization of databases is its flexibility.
Consider fields -- names, addresses, identification numbers and the like -- that are central to a database. The fields that can be used in most databases are very restrictive. Anything out of the ordinary -- such as the need for an additional line on an address -- requires redesigning or redefining the field, which is like having new forms printed because no provision was made on the originals for any extra lines.
Cornerstone, on the other hand, uses what are known as multivalued fields. If an address requires an extra line or an individual has two telephone numbers, and the original setup provided space for only one, the extra line can simply be typed in and the field will expand to accommodate the addition. Just as important is that it will do so without allocating equivalent space in all the other records of the database.
Another benefit of Cornerstone is its unusual flexibility in the length of the entries permitted in a field. Many database programs have rigidly defined field entry lengths, which is why I receive a lot of computerized junk mail addressed to Mr. E. Sandbergdim. The length of a name is no problem for Cornerstone. An entry, in fact, can incorporate fairly verbose and detailed annotation.
Let's say a firm has a computerized list of its customers. In the last month, representatives of the company have contacted a number of those customers and noted on the computer that 23 of the 600 customers expressed interest in a new dc motor the company is about to produce. When the motor is ready to be released and the firm needs to know whom to contact, Cornerstone can be asked for a sort by "dc motor" and the computer will pluck the desired names, addresses and other customer information from its memory.
THE program will permit up to 30 associative links to other files in the database.
The customer list can thus be sorted by zip code, to determine, say, how many customer locations are within a region accessible on one sales trip, or by accounts generating purchase orders for more than $2,000 during the last quarter.
The program's flexibility does not, incidentally, extend to entering data of the wrong type. For example, if a field requires an entry for the amount of credit extended to a customer, the customer's name will not be accepted on that line. The same holds true for such obviously wrong entries like a date of February 31, 1985, or a test score of 98 when the upper limit has been defined as 50.
All of Cornerstone's fine data handling capabilities would be relatively useless without a good report generator. This segment of a database program is what takes all the information and pulls it together in the form of a finished report. Up to 255 different data entry and report formats can be stored with the database. Totals, subtotals and various other calculations can be presented in a style to suit almost any requirement. A "Hide" command can be used to generate a summation report listing only the subtotal and total of certain calculations. Omitting the "Hide" directive results in a report supplying all the bothersome details of those calculations.
Cornerstone is basically a database program almost as easy to use as the PFS:File and PFS:Report combination and almost as broad in its applications capabilities as dBase II. There are two somewhat serious drawbacks: the lack of a command language and a sometimes confusing menu structure.
While future versions of the program may well incorporate programming capabilities to satisfy advanced users, those individuals in need of advanced features will probably find Cornerstone inadequate. As to the menu, I found myself sometimes becoming lost. Over all, however, I recommend that anyone considering the purchase of a database software package get a copy of the free Cornerstone demostration disk and give the program a whirl.
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