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Revision as of 21:18, 22 April 2007 by Whipmeister (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)DataEase is a rapid application development tool for developing relationally-organized, data-intensive software applications for personal computers. DataEase was created in the early 1980s by software developers Arun Gupta and Joseph Busch. The first version of the software was released in 1981. The principals sold the company to Sapphire International Corporation of the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. Sapphire continues to develop and market the product. There are two distinct product arcs in DataEase' history: DataEase for DOS and DataEase for Windows.
DataEase for DOS
DataEase' early hallmark was the ease with which non-programmers found they could rapidly develop useful software applications. DataEase' design emphasized the visual design of screen forms and reports while hiding almost all of the arcane details such as properties of the underlying data structure. In addition, complex data management processes that would typically require a multitude of complex steps to complete with traditional programming tools were handled automatically and transparently as a user made changes to his/her application. For example, when editing an existing form, if the user removed a field, added another, indexed another and changed the data type of yet another, the necessary steps required to reflect those changes in the data structure underlying the form were automatically and non-destructively applied when the form was saved.
Report writing was similarly streamlined. The user simply defined access to the desired data using a simple procedural language known as DataEase Query Language (DQL). A prompting script editor, which permitted any user to instantly create DQL script with no prior knowledge of DQL syntax remains one of DataEase' most overlooked and beneficial features. One was not required to memorize details about the application's components or DQL syntactical construction prior to writing a valid DQL script.
Sample DQL Script
For Employees with (Salary < 50000 and YearsOfService > 4 and LastReviewGrade>85)
List Records
LastName in order;
FirstName ;
CurrentSalary : item sum ;
CurrentSalary * data-entry EnterRaiseAmount : item sum .
Modify Records
CurrentSalary := CurrentSalary * data-entry EnterRaiseAmount .
In addition to simplified definition of data forms, reports and procedures, DataEase for DOS provided facilities for defining an application's user access, navigational menus, multi-format importing of data from other sources, data exporting, data backup and restoration, system documentation and user help, backing up and restoring data and integrating external programs into the application. DataEase for DOS applications provided record-level locking meaning they could be accessed simultaneously by many other users.
From Nothing To An Application
The following sequence of images depict the steps required by DataEase for DOS to construct and deploy a minimal data application.
Main Menu
Create a Data Form
The first step is to create a form. Forms and tables are one and the same. When a form's design is altered, the changes to the underlying structures and data occur transparently. File:Screen132.jpg
Defining a Form's Fields
The Form Design Canvas
Create a Report Procedure
After one has constructed the screen forms that will be used to manage the data in the application, the next natural step is to create a number of reports to list and analyze the data. The following depicts the basic steps performed to create a new report.
The Interactive DQL Script Editor
The next several screens depict the steps required to construct a report procedure with the interactive script editor. Using DataEase' interactive mode, it is impossible to make a syntactic mistake. This permits even non-programmers to rapidly construct useful applications.
The Report Layout Editor
The layout is automatically generated from one of several templates. File:Screen143.jpg
Create a Menu
Create Your Users
Put Your Application To Work
Main Menu
Enter Data
Print A Report
DataEase at Work
DataEase for DOS gained a loyal following among independent business application developers and those responsible for managing proprietary business processes in the corporate world. The DataEase Resource Guide, published by Sapphire International in the late 1980s lists approximately two hundred commercially-available applications spanning specialized domains from Waste Management to Law Enforcement. Indeed, many corporate users deployed business-critical applications using DataEase including organizations such as NASA, Ford Motor Co., Citimortgage (FKA Lomas Financial Corporation), and the American Automobile Club.
DataEase for DOS was distributed worldwide and, according to information provided by Sapphire International, peaked at an installed base of approximately 2 million seats. Despite the fact that Sapphire ceased distribution of DataEase for DOS in 2003, a significant number of DataEase for DOS applications remained in active use worldwide as of 2007.
Awards
DataEase for DOS was recognized with a number of prestigious industry awards
- PC Magazine Editor's Choice: 1986, 1988, 1989
- PC Magazine Best of Award: 1988, 1990
- PC Week Labs Shootout: Winner 1990
DataEase for Windows
DataEase for Windows is rapid application development tool for constructing Windows software applications. DataEase for Windows was designed from scratch and shares few of the intuitive features of its DOS ancestor. Instead the product was positioned to pursue new territory with programmers. As such, DataEase for Windows was slowly embraced by long-time DataEase for DOS users.
Recent Struggles
DataEase has recently struggled to maintain relevancy in an increasingly crowded marketplace dominated by well-funded offerings from Microsoft and others. Sapphire has been sluggish to react with fresh product releases to the rapid shifts in popular platform architecture. In addition, many loyal developer-partners, disappointed with the DataEase for Windows interface and the lack of automatic migration facilities that automatically migrate existing DataEase for DOS applications to DataEase for Windows, abandoned the platform in favor of more popular tools. Surprisingly a great many incumbent users and developers remain loyal to the DOS product, despite its lack of currency and increasing support difficulties.
Resources
- I cleaned it up a little, but it is still a little messy
--Whipmeister 22:59, 21 April 2007 (UTC)]]
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