Replacement for dBase

[seacue]

dBase for DOS has served us well for nigh on to 20 years. It works fine on PCs up through Win XP. But my organization has to move on to something more modern. dBase is so old that it can be loaded on new XP PCs without purchasing a new license ... if one were even available.

Our database has over 28,000 membership records. There are other, much smaller, associated databases.

Where should we go from here?

I worry that Microsoft will require purchase of new versions when PCs are replaced after 5 years or so. Can I expect the programs we write today to be compatible the new versions of ACCESS a decade from now? How stable is VBA, ie: will the human interface have to be rewritten within a few years?

If not ACCESS, where to go? MySQL is one route, which may not tie us to Windows. But what front end software should be used with it? Even ACCESS claims to be a possible front end.

Mailing labels are a very important part of our needs and PHP/HTML doesn't seem well-suited for the production of labels.

I'm very old and the organization needs to use software which is understood by much younger volunteers.

Any suggestions or comments?

seacue

[Bushfiva]

Why not keep using it? DOS to dBASE Plus Summary (http://www.dbase.com/knowledgebase/faq/dbase_dos_to_windows.asp)

[mixture]

Oracle Express Edition (it's free* !).

Nothing comes near Oracle.

(*Well, free up to a limit of 4GB , which is more than enough for most people !)

[Milo Minderbinder]

I wouldn't trust Oracle at present - with the way they treated OpenOffice and are now messing around with their control of Java, and the way they disposed of Novell's Linux interests I don't believe they have any interest in free software long term

MySQL Community Edition may be a better bet - and you've possibly a better chance of finding someone who knows how to configure it
https://www.mysql.com/products/

[mixture]

I wouldn't trust Oracle at present - with the way they treated OpenOffice and are now messing around with their control of Java, and the way they disposed of Novell's Linux interests I don't believe they have any interest in free software long term


Seriously ? :ugh::ugh:

Given that Oracle Database is their core, fundamental product, they are not want to give it a bad reputation.

May I also remind you that Express is a recent addition to their stable, so they're not going to scrap it just after they introduced it.

I suggest you substantiate your statement or you withdraw it, as it smells of pure FUD to me !

MySQL Community Edition may be a better bet

I love the irony Sir. There you are, bashing Oracle.... and yet the best you can suggest is another product from the Oracle stable. :E

Believe me. Time spent with Oracle, is time well spent. MySQL is nothing but a toy in comparison to the power that Oracle gives you.

[Milo Minderbinder]

Oracle since the Sun takeover has
abandoned all interest in Linux
abandoned Open Office
seriously restricted third party / open source implementations of Java
killed OpenSolaris

Almost everything free has gone, or been left to rot.

As fro MySQL - theres an open source development community who will keep it alive. You can't say the same about the free version of the Oracle DB

[mixture]

You're just spewing more bull all over the place Milo, and I honestly can't be bothered to come here and wipe up the mess behind you.

You can't say the same about the free version of the Oracle DB

Nonsense.

Oracle XE is the Oracle DB codebase with the 4GB limit and enterprise functionality disabled. Therefore as long as Oracle continue to develop the core database product (which, even you have to agree, is not something that will stop anytime soon), the up to date code will be there for XE.

Put another way, Oracle XE is there to encourage widespread adoption of Oracle, in the hope people will eventually "upgrade" to the paid versions when they are ready.

If you feel that way about Oracle XE Milo, I dread to think what sort of FUD you will try to come up with for Microsoft SQL Server Express. Since Oracle XE is pretty much Oracle's answer to MS SQL Express except with a lot more functionality.

[Milo Minderbinder]

Oracle continue to develop Solaris - but they've killed the free version
These companies are in it for the money, not for providing free services

[bnt]

Another option, these days, is to outsource the job. There are "customer relationship management" or "club management" services that will host the database and let you work with it e.g. sending out regular mailshots. I don't have a particular one to recommend for your club, but it's worth looking into, I think.

[seacue]

Thank you all for the comments so far. I was traveling from Florida to Maryland yesterday and didn't get a chance to read in.

I hadn't realized that there was a free version of Oracle. The nephew of the organization's one employee took his millions and ran when Oracle bought his organization. I'll put a question through that path.

seacue

[ExGrunt]

Seacue,

Another opensource choice is Postgresql. I have used it as the back end, on a fedora linux box (it is included in the distro), for a small ecommerce site faultlessly for well over 5 years.

For a comparison with Mysql see this article:

PostgreSQL vs. MySQL: Which Is the Best Open Source Database? | Wazi (http://olex.openlogic.com/wazi/2011/postgresql-vs-mysql-which-is-the-best-open-source-database/)

There is plenty of free online documentation and a good free windows DB management tool 'Pgadmin'.

In the end, with open source, it is down to personal preference of the DB manager.

HTH

EG

[seacue]

Former Grunt,

To show my ignorance, the systems using MySQL and its friends/enemies seem to be aimed at on-line use. My most important use is printing labels locally. I need to be able to create a number of different types of labels based on the data in each member record.

I'll look into your suggestion.

Thank you,

seacue

[mixture]

To show my ignorance, the systems using MySQL and its friends/enemies seem to be aimed at on-line use.

You can use databases wherever you want to.

Google the word intranet.

[seacue]

No doubt Mixture.

But I suspect I show that my stupidity is beneath contempt by thinking that networks is networks, whether intra or inter.

I haven't found an application to put on top of MySQL which has "jumped out" as suiting my purpose.

I do what I can within my level of incompetence.

Thank you,

seacue

[mixture]

Our database has over 28,000 membership records.

At 50p per member you could have a very useable bespoke system built. At £1 per member you could have the bespoke system of your dreams.

Just a thought... :ok:

[dbasellc]

dBase LLC (who I work for) has released a new program that provides an MSDOS emulation so you can continue to use your dBASE for DOS product, programs, and data files.

For information, please visit Homepage | dbDOS (http://dbdos.com)

[mixture]

Oh for gods sake. Not another person who registers a new username simply for the purpose of dragging up an old thread from the past.

:ugh::ugh::ugh: