I
’m often asked if a Clipper application is valid today in a Windows world. Yes!
However, in our initial tests using Windows Vista we were unable to get our applications to run. They lock up in the start up code, particularly in the automatic configuration process. Eventually, we created workarounds.
And, yes! We do have a Vista Patch--Patch E. So we’re updating and running in Vista. But maybe, 12 years after Zachary was officially put to rest, it’s time to get out of denial, to
grieve and move on.
Please do NOT expect a patch for the next version of Windows, after Vista. We’re done!
After all these years, I’m thinking Microsoft has finally killed off our older legacy applications.My response? I’m recommending the
following non-Microsoft tools:
RealBasic. Develop software. One compiler, on one computer, cranks out programs for Win, Mac, and Linux. OpenOffice. Replacement for Microsoft Office that’s cross-platform, Win, Mac, and Linux. Direct replacements for Word, Excel,
Powerpoint. Reads and writes Office documents, too. And thanks to Sun Microsystems, it’s open source, and free!
By the way, these products work in Vista. Which is more than I can say for my old version of Microsoft Office (97), which worked great in
2000 and XP, but won’t install in Vista.I’m reminded of about 15 years ago, when Microsoft introduced Windows 3.1, and cleverly released Microsoft Word and Excel in a bundle (Office) months before WordPerfect and
Lotus could get a Windows version out. By the time the market leaders could catch up, they had lost the race. This time Microsoft is squeezing their own customers, trying to force upgrades. Well... I’m not buying! At some point we have to say,
“Stop! I’m not taking this anymore!” I may get stuck with Windows Vista on a computer, but I don’t have to buy Office or Visual Basic, dot-net, or any of the
other Microsoft line. (And if someone at Microsoft reads this, something I doubt will happen, get off your high horse and remember that an operating system is supposed to help us operate
our software on a computer, not make it impossible. An upgrade should add features, stability, etc., not remove them. It should be backwards compatible.) And sadly, despite claims by software companies of amazing
developer systems, there still is nothing I’ve found in the Windows world as quick, flexible, and comprehensive as Zachary.
For those who want details: I’ve been asked exactly what doesn’t work in my applications. Frankly, I’m not sure, but a quick check indicates that writing text files is blocked. While that’s not a major part of
an application, we do that to make sure we have write permissions (we apparently don’t, even though we really do) and to write parameters into application ini files.
Further we write clipper environment variables into the config.nt file and the unique user id into the autoexec.nt
file. Those writes are blocked... but no error, instead, going into an extended wait state. Many Clipper programs wouldn’t do any of those things because they don’t check or correct configurations like the AD2-Zachary applications do.
And, yes, we’ve tested in Administrator mode, and, no, Vista didn’t pop up a little message box to ask if it is okay to update those configuration files... like it does for many of the other programs on the system.
The good news? Recently we revised the Zachary indexing routines to work better with large databases. One client, running XP, has a main table of 4.3 million records. Looking up an indexed record is
instantaneous! I demonstrated the system for my wife. Her reaction? “I wish Oracle could do that!”
It´s absolutely amazing!
On the phone recently, a good friend told me again: “These Windows development tools drive me nuts. There still isn´t anything out there that makes my life easy like Zachary did a few years ago. I wish that I could use Zachary now.”
Not long ago, a client was referred to me by an existing customer. “Would you take my Visual Basic Program and rebuild it so it works better?” “Sure,” I replied. And I rebuilt his program in
Clipper using Zachary and the AD2 toolkit. What did he think of the result?
”The program is working great. It is so much faster and easier to use than what we had. Excellent investment for us for saving time and convenience.
Thanks for making it possible.” -- Tom Qualls
IBMSeminar.com.
Amazing resources and a remarkable book... How to make a website profitable using the cool business magic of Walt Disney. Resources for making your internet site profitable, and for hosting service, design, and eCommerce.
If you want your website to make you money, Click here...
|
|
